


poorly-cropped drabbles for the soul

by sujiverse



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, not sponsored by chicken soup for the soul and its affiliates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2020-09-07 13:46:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 27,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20310493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sujiverse/pseuds/sujiverse
Summary: brevity is the soul of wit





	1. foreword

**FOREWORD**

hi! it me. i foresee this to be a really messy writing collection/fic dump, so i guess a foreword is necessary. and while i’m here, i’d first like to apologise for the inconsistent capilisation across all my fics in general. i’m a gen z kid who doesn’t turn on auto-capilisation to fit in. my sincerest apologies.

with that out the way, i want to also set some ground rules:

a) please do not take any of these drabbles and make them into full fics without permission. some of these are ideas and stories that have spent ages in my drafts and are very precious to me. some others are, as the kids say, free real estate. so ask, and more often than not, you shall receive.

b) mature content and trigger warnings will be stated in the chapter summaries, so check those and tread carefully!

c) enjoy? kudos and comment if you do, and perhaps, i might just be motivated enough to continue writing it (i speak for all writers when i say that, sometimes, all it takes is one comment).

and that’s it, really. as usual, i hope you enjoy these as much as i enjoyed writing them. now, finally, some poorly-cropped drabbles for the soul:

1\. **curses, crushes and cat 5 thunderstorms** (viseul where vivi ditches, and haseul pines)

2\. **gamergurlxd123** (hyerim where hyejoo games and yerim talks. a lot.)

3.** i will love you (till the end of time)** (chuulip where they talk, reminisce, laugh, and try to stay alive in the apocalypse)

4\. **wdtfs?** (2jin where heejin pines and hyunjin, well, endures)

5\. **zombieland** (lipves/lipseul where jungeun's just a coward trying to survive in zombieland)

6\. **fuck them kids** (yvesoul + chaewon where sooyoung is a good girlfriend, but an even better mother)

7\. **now, is it you now?** (chuulip where haha um... whatt iff they heldd hands while perrforming butterfly haha.. just joking… unless?)

8\. **the good place** (chuuves where sooyoung ends up in the good place by mistake)

9\. **good for you** (lipseul where haseul is sad, jungeun is sad, and literally nothing goes right)

10.** HaseulSmokes **(lip + yves chance upon a cute youtuber who vapes) 

11\. **all that glitters is not gold (it’s you)** (lipsoul where jungeun is pretty and jinsoul likes to stare)

12\. **warm bodies** (haseul + 2jin where they find a cure to the infection, somehow)

13\. **please, not in the scifi section!** (lipves where jungeun reads, and sooyoung distracts)

14\. **you make my whole week **(hyewonrim where hyejoo is indecisive, but chaewon and yerim are not)

15\. **the trials and tribulations of sooyoungie **(leader line where they shop in ikea, and sooyoung gets put on the spot)

16\. **croissants, critters and cutting classes **(viseul part 2 where vivi stops ditching, and haseul still pines)

17\. **i'm so sick **(lipves where jungeun falls sick, and sooyoung also, falls)

18\. **don't drink and drive** (lipsoul where jungeun's old habits die hard)

19\. **operation homecoming: detective park's joyless job** (hyewon where chaewon brings a perp in for questioning) 

20\. **the champion **(chuulip where jungeun is the hogwarts champion for the triwizard tournament)

21\. **roots** (lipves where lip and yves meet for the first time post-disbandment)

22\. **the good, the bad, and the messy** (chuuves/chuulip where jiwoo is a messy, messy person)

23\. **before i go **(jungeun gets ready for reaping day, hunger games au)

24\. **shut up and marry me **(lipves where lip needs her job, and yves needs a wife)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i always feel like i'll be opening a can of worms if i said i was taking requests so... i'm not saying i'm taking requests i'm just saying if you have some prompts/scenarios you'd like to talk about, my dms and cc are always open. winkity dink
> 
> cc: [here](https://curiouscat.me/2jinverse)  
twt: [@2jinverse](https://twitter.com/2jinverse)


	2. curses, crushes and cat 5 thunderstorms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> viseul where vivi ditches, and haseul pines

people always assume haseul to be some kind of god. she is the mom friend, the leader, the designated driver- the almighty haseul.

(do they really think that? she actually doesn't know. sooyoung tells her people think of her as some kind of infallible godly being, but do they really mean it? do they actually know her?)

the truth is as such: a shaky hand hastily hidden in her jean pocket when she gets nervous around pigeons but doesn't want to show it. cold sweat quickly wiped away with one of her many handkerchiefs before any presentation. an awkward silence during a conversation always replaced with calculated rambling. her clothes chosen to never be too over the top, always presentable yet showing her personality.

right now, standing beside vivi, she is all of those things, amplified and at once.

they're not new to each other. ironically, haseul is great with strangers and her friendliness is almost contagious. yet, it's been a year and it is still hard to be in such close proximity with miss wong kahei, vivi herself.

maybe it's the weather. the weather is never great around her. and when she's with vivi it's almost always like there's a storm cloud following them around. literally. heejin tells her she's cursed to live around rain for the rest of her life.

(fun fact: she's been in denial for half a year.)

((not-so-fun fact: haseul is so perceptive that she actually knows she is in denial.))

"why are you so fidgety today? like you're always fidgeting but today you can't stop wiping your perspiration and your face is flushed. are you sick, seul?"

she manages to stop vivi's hand from going to her forehead (she is sure her face is burning) and assures her that she's fine. vivi advises her to drink more water, and she nods her head obediently.

they were just waiting for their noodles in silence. then vivi has to go all soft on her by asking about her well-being?

her head is running wild thinking of how the afternoon is going to go: she might ask vivi to go to the new cafe with her, or go on a nature stroll with her, or go cycling with her, or tend to the plants at the rooftop garden with her, or-

"i have dance class in half an hour, you think we'll get our noodles in time?" vivi suddenly asks.

"uh, yeah of course, you just have to eat a little faster. oh look, our noodles are ready!" 

abort plans! abort all plans! 

she's disappointed, but vivi can't have dance class everyday right? 

"ugh, i can't wait to eat. i haven't eaten lunch all week because yves and i had to dance everyday. today is my only free day, i'm back to living on scraps tomorrow," vivi says, pouting as she sets her bowl down.

"aww poor baby, i'll bring you snacks tomorrow and for the rest of the week."

being able to think quickly on her feet came as naturally to her as it was to hide her feelings of sadness. vivi smiles at her suggestion though, thanking her, and that is enough for her.

maybe, it is. but maybe she wants more.

"can't you skip a day to rest? i mean, sooyoung can definitely handle a class on her own, and then you can do one and give her a break the next day?"

"oh that would be awesome," vivi's eyes light up, contemplating the suggestion. her face falls as the realisation. "it's going to be so hard to clean the moves of a partner dance alone, though. and i wouldn't want to let her conduct a class alone, that would be excruciating. do you know how jungeun and yerim are like?"

"like really noisy and stupid?"

"yeah, worse. they're good dancers and my favourite people but it's ugh, is it so hard for them to shut up and listen to us?"

vivi's comments warrant a laugh from haseul. she knows how their younger friends can be sometimes.

"so no free days, huh. must be tough," she tries her best to sound sincere and not disappointed. "i'm sure you'll get through it just fine," she continues, to which vivi nods.

perhaps, "haseul's curse" (a term coined by hyunjin and heejin to explain the heavy rain they always have to endure around her) is a real thing that extends outside of her bad luck with weather. her love life, or lack thereof, explains it all.

"damn, i have to go. i don't wanna arrive after half the class has, it's not a good look. see you tomorrow?"

haseul holds back the sigh, willing her lips to form a smile. 

"yeah, see you!"

vivi leaves, and haseul thinks she really needs to get a grip. she shouldn't let one girl hold so much leverage over her life.

but it's all lip service, isn't it? she knows she'll buy those snacks, and she knows she give them to her tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that, and on and on and on, yet still not acknowledge her own feelings.

get a damn grip.

(the truth is in fact as such: a bowl of unfinished noodles in front of her, cold and soggy- just like how she feels all the times vivi has to spend her time elsewhere and not with her.)

thunder rumbles in the distance, and heavy rain descends within minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i always feel like i'll be opening a can of worms if i said i was taking requests so... i'm not saying i'm taking requests i'm just saying if you have some prompts/scenarios you'd like to talk about, my dms and cc are always open. winkity dink
> 
> cc: [here](https://curiouscat.me/2jinverse)  
twt: [@2jinverse](https://twitter.com/2jinverse)


	3. gamergurlxd123

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hyerim where hyejoo games and yerim talks. a lot.

this is not how yerim expected to spend her afternoon.

she wanted a day of cafes or a movie, or just to do a bit of studying with hyejoo. but here she was, dragged into a place darker than hyejoo's wardrobe. it's no question that it would be completely uncharacteristic of her to be a patron of an internet cafe, because not only does she not play any video games well, she's extremely intimidated by gamers.

well, except hyejoo. she's sweet.

so when the girl tells her all she wants to do is go to an internet cafe to play video games, she couldn't help but smile and oblige. since when has she done otherwise anyway?

on the bright side, they managed to drag yeojin along with them. which means yerim has someone equally bad at playing games with her!

five minutes in and she realises her mistake. yeojin was a natural at overwatch. hyejoo was of course, looking like a professional at it. she had quit two seconds in, after realising she couldn't even locate the spacebar without looking at the keyboard. she pulls out tetris, a game that at the very least, she knows the controls to.

yeojin screeches when her opponent lands a good hit, and choi "all smiles" yerim gives her a little scowl.

_oh my god, you did not! take it back choi yerim!_

luckily for her, yeojin doesn't notice her little slip of character. she swallows back her scowl, switching her focus on to hyejoo.

hyejoo seems to have noticed her staring for far too long, because she actually turns away from the computer screen to ask if she's alright.

"i'm fine," she assures her. she's not fine, she's bored out of her mind. hyejoo gives her a look, like she doesn't believe her.

"alright yeah, i'm bored okay? i just- okay can you just listen to me talk?"

"of course," hyejoo obliges, eyes back on the monitor. compared to yeojin, she's way too calm.

speaking of the devil, yeojin lets out another high pitched screech that jolts yerim slightly out of her seat.

"so one night, when jungeun unnie was coming back from haseul unnie's room she tells me she met this girl right? and i just dismiss it as one of her many gay panic thingys and went back to sleep. and then every day for the next week, she tells me she made friends with the girl and thinks she might actually like her, and guess what?"

"what?" hyejoo asks without missing a beat. the girl is great at multitasking.

"that girl she was telling me about was jinsoul unnie! and she doesn't know that me and jinsoul unnie and i are actually friends. i'm screwed if she finds out because i've been the brunt of all her very verbal thoughts about her, and she has faith that i wouldn't tell on her."

"well, did you tell on her to jinsoul unnie?"

"no, of course not! but i'm just scared you know, what if she loses her trust in me because i never told her i knew jinsoul unnie?" yerim sighs, spinning around mindlessly in her chair. "it's stupid, i know."

"nah, it's not stupid. i get it, you don't want her to think you were keeping someething from her right? because jungeun unnie means a lot to you, so it's getting hard to face her. and there seems to be no good timing to tell her, so you just avoid meeting her. is that why you're always in my room nowadays?"

"woah, yes actually. you're spot on," yerim remarks in amazement. "how did you get all that?"

hyejoo turns to face her just as she lands a perfectly aimed shot at one of her opponents.

"i'm good at this kind of stuff," she says, just as the screen on her computer stills for a split second. her team won.

she's good indeed.

yerims look at her appreciatively for a while. hyejoo throws her a wink, a bad one, that she's been practicing, evoking a laugh from her.

"you know, jungeun unnie always thinks you're off somewhere conducting exorcisms on people. she thinks of you as some kind of emo, horror-loving goth of some sort."

hyejoo chuckles. "i am an emo, horror-loving goth. jungeun unnie's just scared of me because i once yelled at her for drinking from my bottle."

"you screamed at jungeun unnie? crap, that sounds so ideal. i wanna do that too."

"i only did that cos i was sick! i didn't want her to get the flu too."

"if only she knew how much of a softie you actually are. you only go hard when you are dancing or playing video games."

hyejoo laughs softly. "that, i cannot deny."

"alright, i'll go get snacks," yerim says, standing up from her chair with newfound resolve. "you better be here when i get back!"

"don't worry," hyejoo says, tearing her eyes from the screen to look yerim right in the eyes. "i won't be leaving any time soon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i always feel like i'll be opening a can of worms if i said i was taking requests so... i'm not saying i'm taking requests i'm just saying if you have some prompts/scenarios you'd like to talk about, my dms and cc are always open. winkity dink
> 
> cc: [here](https://curiouscat.me/2jinverse)  
twt: [@2jinverse](https://twitter.com/2jinverse)


	4. i will love you (till the end of time)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chuulip where they talk, reminisce, laugh, and try to stay alive in the apocalypse
> 
> TW: blood

"hey," jungeun says softly, a small smile greeting jiwoo, who’s finally awake. "how're you feeling?"

jiwoo is lying across her lap, as comfortable as someone as terribly sick as she is can be. she runs her fingers through her hair, a wave of nostalgia hitting her. she misses when it used to be just the two of them.

"like i can finally talk coherently for the first time in days," jiwoo articulates every word with a bit more difficulty than she normally would. she laughs, a good sign that this fever-flu-hypothermia thing hasn't taken that much out of her. or at least, that's what jungeun hopes it is. "remember that time i ate sand when you pushed me into the sea? it feels like that."

it really has been too quiet lately without jiwoo's voice. jungeun smiles cheekily at the memory.

"you still remember that? we were in like, elementary school!"

_ jungeun sneaks up on her, the wind blowing so loudly that the sounds of her footsteps entering water are muted in comparison. _

_ one push, and jiwoo— arms opened to welcome to the sunshine, eyes closed to full enjoy the sea breeze— falls into the water, getting a face full of seaweed. _

_ jungeun, cackling, runs away. she only turns back when jiwoo, vision obscured by seaweed dangling from her forehead, gets out of the water for revenge and ends up diving for the seashore with a shriek instead. if a full face of sand wasn't enough for jungeun to return and help her friend up in pity, maybe a throatful of sand was, because jiwoo swears she couldn't breathe right for days. _

"elementary school was fun, but middle school was iconic. remember the guy we both had a crush on, and turns out he had a thing for our teacher?"

of course jungeun remembers him. his name was rocky, and he was popular. he wasn't particularly good looking or anything, but he was soft-spoken and nice, very unlike boys at their age. not to mention his hair was stylish at that time, so well-gelled and maintained. jiwoo was obsessed with him, and jungeun pretended to be too, so they would have something to talk about. 

"i'm pretty sure you were the only one who had a crush on him. i had standards."

_ "rocky like, looked at me today. and he smiled at me. do you think i should confess?" jiwoo looks on wistfully, as rocky bumps carelessly into another student, his glasses falling out of place. _

_ jungeun chokes on the water she's drinking. "um, i'm not so sure about that." _

_ jiwoo leans back into her chair, folding her arms. she's deep in her thoughts. jungeun notices that she curled her bangs today, and she sees a hint of lip gloss on her lips. the classroom is noisy and the boys are being rowdy again, but everything seems to fade into the background when she's looking at jiwoo, and her heart seems to beat a little faster. _

_ and suddenly, everything— from her feelings of jealousy, to disgust, to shock when jiwoo speaks of confessing to rocky— made sense. _

_ "don't do it," she lashes out, shaking jiwoo by the shoulders. "d-don't confess to him." _

_ jiwoo turns to her, a pout on her lips. she looks so sad, god, it's adorable. _

_ so she whips out a lie about how she heard from a friend's sister who heard from their friend's brother's classmate that rocky had a crush on their elderly homeroom teacher, jiwoo's image of him as the perfect boyfriend shatters, she gets over him, and the rest is history. _

"you're right," jiwoo says, sighing. "you had better taste than me."

jungeun caresses jiwoo's face, her thumb running across her cheeks, totally missing the implication in her words. she can't help but feel her heart squeeze when jiwoo shivers from the cold. she's about to turn and reach for another blanket, but a hand on hers stops her.

jiwoo holds her hands with both of her own. she closes her eyes, probably too tired to keep them open anymore.

"you look delirious," jungeun comments, only half-joking. 

"i don't care, i'm sick. also, i like that your hands are really warm," jiwoo says, her eyes shooting open in realisation. "oh my god, déjà vu."

jungeun just laughs.

_ a day's worth of window shopping, playing arcade games and pigging out on street food leads to this: jungeun and jiwoo sitting at the doorstep to latter's house, because jiwoo is refusing to end their day by defiantly sitting outside her own house, effectively forcing jungeun into sitting with her. it wasn't much of a choice really, since all jiwoo needed to do was say "you're really going to let me sit out here in the cold alone?" and jungeun is by her side, apologising and warming her up with her hands. _

_ they're in the last year of middle school by now, and jiwoo is no longer as dense, naive, or boy-crazed as she once was. jungeun had also came out to her in a rather anticlimatic manner, slipping it into their everyday conversation that she would "rather have a wife than a husband" leaving jiwoo to do a double take and overthink, before giving up and asking her about it.  _

_ she knows now what she means to jungeun, because the girl is hardly ever subtle about her feelings. and perhaps, she's starting to realise what jungeun means to her as well.  _

_ "i like that your hands are so warm," jiwoo comments, placing her head on jungeun's shoulder. she plays with jungeun's hands, rubbing it like a hot pack and pretends to place it on her face, letting out a content and exaggerated sigh. jungeun makes a little sound that is sort of a groan and a laugh when she does that, and jiwoo just knows she's feeling flustered.  _

_ it makes her heart feel full knowing that they have the power to make each other so happy. _

_ the sun bathes them in her evening glow, and before they know it, they're watching the sunset from her doorstep. it's all sorts of pink, purple and orange, and she's certain that she's never seen a prettier sunset.  _

_ when the sun leaves and a full moon takes her place in the night sky, they share their first kiss in the winter cold in between hushed confessions. _

_ in a few hours, they'll get scolded by jiwoo's mum for staying outside in the cold for so long, and be forced to take hot showers. jiwoo's mum will remember it as the day her daughter and her best friend fell sick because they didn't want to stop hanging out, but jiwoo and jungeun will remember it fondly as their first day as a couple. _

"i miss middle school. we used to do everything together."

jiwoo's face falls. she knows jungeun means that they haven't spent that much time in high school together. 

"no wait! i didn't mean it like that," jungeun continues. "i swear."

"you did," jiwoo says slowly. "i know i've been spending a lot of time with sooyoung. jungeun, i'm so sorry..."

"you have nothing to apologise for, you know? you were right," jungeun cups her face tenderly. "sooyoung still makes you happy, doesn't she?"

jiwoo swallows hard. this is one of those times where she can clearly see how jungeun still looks at her like she did back then. 

"she does, she really does."

"that's good. if you ever break up with her, i'll break your arm."

"wait, shouldn't you be threatening her instead?"

_ they were doing fine. maybe they were having a few more petty fights then usual, but which couple doesn't butt heads? nothing they've been through couldn't be fixed. jungeun had even bought them rings for their 1-year anniversary, and she notices that the other girl still has it on.  _

_ so why the hell was jiwoo initiating a break-up? _

_ her look of confusion must have spoken volumes. jiwoo places her hand on hers from across the table.  _

_ "look, i don't know how to say this..." _

_ "do you like someone else?"  _

_ "what? god, no! why in the world would you think that?" _

_ "you're literally breaking up with me right now." _

_ "you've known me for seven years, jungeun." _

_ "fine, i'm sorry for saying that. i'm just really confused right now." jungeun takes a sip of her iced coffee while staring at jiwoo the whole time. it's not the menacing glare that jungeun gives to anyone giving jiwoo a hard time, but it's enough to make her wonder if she's just irreversibly hurt their relationship. _

_ alright, here it goes. _

_ "i need you to know that i love you so, so much. there was one day i thought to myself how i wouldn't be kim jiwoo if there wasn't kim jungeun. i can't ever imagine my life without you. but every single time we have a stupid fight, i ask myself 'what if this is the last thing i ever say to you?' and that scares me to no end." _

_ jungeun wants to say something, but settles for holding jiwoo's hand tightly instead. she needs to hear her out, no matter how much she disagrees. _

_ "you're going to think i'm stupid for thinking that, but if we stay friends i'll have you by my side forever. i'm terrified of having you out of my life," jiwoo chokes out the last part. _

_ "i watched my parents go from loving each other so much, to being enemies. we're not like them now, but what if we become like them? they didn't know they would end up hating each other so much that even having me and my brothers couldn't fix their relationship. i don't want us to sputter to an unsatisfying end, because then i'll lose you. maybe even forever." _

_ they're both crying by now.  _

_ she wipes the tears off of jiwoo's face with one hand, rubbing her knuckles soothingly with another. "that's bullshit, jiwoo", "you're so dumb, jiwoo" or "i would never leave you, jiwoo" were all things she could have said in reply to that. she could have assured them that their love would tide them through anything, and everything life throws at them.  _

_ she doesn't, because the truth is, she wasn't so sure herself. she had seen how loving jiwoo's parents used to be. now they can't even bear to look at each other.  _

_ she knows jiwoo has contemplated what life would be like if they were never a couple. that's because she has, too. sometimes she feels that it would absolutely suck to not have her, because she would never understand what date nights at the park would be like— having someone to stroll with, to listen to you ramble on about your day, and to give you hugs when you need them. other times it gets a little bit discouraging to think about: what if jiwoo could find someone better than her to be with? what if she isn't making jiwoo happy anymore? no one knows apart from jiwoo, and she's a great actress. what if they're better as friends? what if- _

_ she doesn't know the answer to any of those questions. all she does know is that she loves jiwoo, and she would do anything to make her happy. _

_ "i love you," she speaks up after what feels like an eternity. "and if that's what you want... then, i'll be your best friend again." _

_ jiwoo laughs joylessly through her tears. _

_ "i don't think you ever stopped being my best friend." _

_ (in a year's time, jungeun would find a renewed passion in dance, and jiwoo would find sooyoung. it did sting a little, seeing sooyoung's face at practice everyday knowing that she was the one jiwoo was now in love with. but to see the girl's face light up every single time she walked into the studio to see her two favourite people in the world was priceless, and she would never want to take that away from jiwoo. _

_ even if it meant that she could only love her from afar.) _

jiwoo opens her mouth to say something else, but a violent cough takes over her body. she covers her mouth with her handkerchief, and pretends not to see the blood that stains it. she hurriedly shoves the bloodied fabric back into her jacket pocket.

jungeun rubs her back to ease her, a look of worry painted all over her face.

"don't worry, i'll be fine."

"you better be," jungeun replies with a smile.

_ i'm sorry, _ jiwoo thinks. the warm orange light from the fireplace flickers, illuminating jungeun's face and eyes.  _ i'll always love you, even though it's not in the way you want me to. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i always feel like i'll be opening a can of worms if i said i was taking requests so... i'm not saying i'm taking requests i'm just saying if you have some prompts/scenarios you'd like to talk about, my dms and cc are always open. winkity dink
> 
> cc: [here](https://curiouscat.me/2jinverse)  
twt: [@2jinverse](https://twitter.com/2jinverse)


	5. wdtfs?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 2jin where heejin pines and hyunjin, well, endures

It is when night falls, that Heejin pines.

Something about the wintry air, and the stillness of the sky. The stars, scattered across the sky, are like the thoughts in her heart she cannot fathom into constellations.

_Oh, my dear diary, it is with great sorrow that I seek respite in the written word of my moleskin journal, yet again. _

_It is the fourteenth day of November. Tomorrow, on the fifteenth, Hyunjin turns twenty. A beautiful age, one that I have been acquainted with for two months now. So far, my twenties have been filled with encounters of true love. Yes, I am deeply in love with a princess. A princess who is really a knight at heart. She wears her shining armour, battles on the hardwood with boys twice her size, and defeats them with flicks of her wrist. She is magnificent, and I am but a mere admirer._

_My heart wrenches at the thought of my love spending this birthday without any knowledge of my growing heart for her. I wish I could show her where my beating heart lays, but I am afraid that Death will take me. My blood type is rare, and I dare not risk cutting open my chest as a means of confession._

_Oh, my dear diary, how I wish you were her. For then I can ink my thoughts directly onto her skin without fear of judgement, and without stuttering. For I am a poor conversationalist; an introvert with a Libra sun. I am not sure what that means, but Co-star tells me I that today I am ready to love deeply and unconventionally. So this is how I shall love._

_Goodnight, my dear diary. Tonight, I pray the strong winds won't carry my love for Hyunjin away with them on their journeys._

Heejin goes to sleep, clutching her aching chest with one hand, and her bolster in another.

* * *

"Sup," Yeojin greets, jutting her chin towards Heejin in the distance. "Why's your girlfriend acting so weird?"

Hyunjin shrugs. "She said she'd put up a play for me for my birthday. She hasn't spoken to me in a week. Told me she's method acting."

Hyejoo snorts violently, and chokes. "Are you kidding," she wheezes, turning to look at Heejin.

From across the cafeteria, Heejin looks apprehensively towards Hyunjin, hugging her journal close to her chest. It's the same moleskin journal Hyunjin got for her birthday. Like a timid freshman handing chocolates to the sophomore she admires, Heejin, a twenty year old with a girlfriend, tiptoes her way towards Hyunjin.

Hyejoo cackles. Yeojin hides her face behind Hyejoo's larger form to muffle her laughter. They sound like a bunch of dying seals, and Hyunjin does not appreciate that one bit.

"My sweetheart, I come to you with a heart that needs healing. I fear I have dragged this on for too long, and I may be close to being six feet under if I do not get this off my chest--"

"Heejin. You ignored me for a week."

"--and I want you to know that your smile is as wide and bright as the moon, your shirt as fragrant as the jasmine perfume I sometimes use--"

"Heejin, for the love of god, everyone's looking."

Indeed, the entire cafeteria has stopped to watch everything unfold.

Heejin looks almost crazed. Defiant.

"I am shy, but for you I must sing you this song! Strangers, bystanders, they may look on with their piercing eyes but I do not care. It is in my blood to love you and I will never let anyone stop me from proclaiming it to the world!"

Jiwoo pops up from nowhere, awkwardly waving with her left hand, clutching her guitar with her right arm. "She put me up to this," she quickly mouths.

Hyunjin inhales deeply.

_"Dog goes "woof", cat goes "meow", bird goes "tweet" and mouse goes "squeak"..."_

"She's singing about your furry tendencies!"

Hyunjin lets out a shaky breath.

"God, that is so hot..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i always feel like i'll be opening a can of worms if i said i was taking requests so... i'm not saying i'm taking requests i'm just saying if you have some prompts/scenarios you'd like to talk about, my dms and cc are always open. winkity dink
> 
> cc: [here](https://curiouscat.me/2jinverse)  
twt: [@2jinverse](https://twitter.com/2jinverse)


	6. zombieland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lipves/lipseul where jungeun's just a coward trying to survive in zombieland
> 
> TW: blood, a little gore, a whole lot of guns, and danger in general

Jungeun pulls up at a deserted gas station. Night-time granted her little natural light, but the semi-functional fluorescent lamps flickering from above gave her just enough to see that there weren’t any zombies within a hundred metres of her.

Panting, she gets out the car, the adrenaline rush of driving without a license still getting to her, two months after the virus had first broken out.

Look, she was never much of a trooper, okay? Some used to call her a loser, and if anyone could see her now, trying her hardest to survive in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, they might even spice it up and label her a coward.

But who are they to judge her? Anyone who has ever mocked her for playing PUBG instead of going out to parties on Friday nights is probably just limp flesh or zombie food now, anyway.

She fills up her car with the gas she needs, and takes a breather against the car door, breathing in some fresh air.

Shit, the smell of gasoline is giving her a headache.

Jungeun has half a mind to drive away, but the familiar bubbling in her stomach tells her otherwise. All the nerves from driving the car finally manifested itself into a big ugly dump that she has to take. Right now.

Fuck.

Rule #3 for surviving Zombieland? Be careful of bathrooms.

Yes, she had a checklist. Yes, she had rules for herself. Sue her. It’s fucking Zombieland.

The rifle she had slung on her back is hurriedly drawn. Cautiously, she stalks towards the bathrooms, ignoring the growing rumbling of her stomach. If the zombies could hear her stool begging to be released, she’s dead meat.

Her left hand shakily reaches for the bathroom handle, while her right holds the rifle up, finger on the trigger and stock pressed into the right of her chest. The doorknob clicks softly as she turns it.

_God help me— FUCK!_

The metal door swings open, and out falls two very heavy-looking zombies. Blood dripping down their chin, their torn shirts showing off their chest wounds… _Are those their ribs?_ They clamber to their feet, and Jungeun stumbles back a little before regaining her senses.

If you’re thinking what Rule #1 is? Here’s your answer.

RUN. Run for your dear fucking life.

_Oh god, oh god, oh god._

Run, Jungeun, run!

She throws the strap of the rifle over her head, ignoring the way the gun is painfully ramming into her tailbone with every step she takes. Her hand reaches for the keys in her jean pocket, and she fishes them out with one swift motion, only to drop it right in front of where her car was.

_Fuck!_ The zombies were getting way too close. She runs away from her Corolla, drawing a big circle around the open space and sprinting as fast as she can to put some distance between herself and the heartless monsters.

They were literally heartless. Jungeun was about to faint from how fast the organ was pumping oxygen and adrenaline to her brain. Do zombies get tired?

She makes it back to the car with a safe enough buffer of time and space for her to swoop the keys up from the floor, try and fail to unlock her door (_because you left it unlocked, dumbass!_), slip into the driver’s seat and put on her seat belt. One foot on the pedal, she begins to drive away from the gas station, leaving the two cannibalistic fuckers to rot.

The sigh of relief barely makes it past her lips when she makes eye contact with someone in the backseat of her car through the rear-view mirror.

Wait, no. Not someone, _something_. Jungeun lets out a scream.

The blood-stained hand reaches from behind and grabs at her blindly. The snapping of its teeth and guttural groaning distract her from driving as she tries to dodge the constant biting. Her car swerves out of control as she throws the back of her elbow into its face, hissing in pain when it makes contact with the zombie’s skull. A particular hit sends it back slightly, and Jungeun shifts her focus back on the road just momentarily and—

Oh god, this is how she dies— driving right into the once glorious storefront of a McDonald’s. All because she didn’t check the backseat.

She squeezes her eyes shut, awaiting the impact of concrete wall, and the wrath of Ronald McDonald.

_BANG! CRASH! BANG! POOF! Bang! Bang. Thud. _

Another thud.

Oh. So she’s not dead. Well. Add Rule #32 to the list: always check the backseat.

She breathes heavily, registering the inflated airbag pushing against her chest. When she decides she’s brave enough to open her eyes, all she sees is her broken windshield, and the lifeless body of a zombie strewn over the hood of her car.

Jungeun shakily crawls out of the totalled Corolla, checking herself for injuries. Apart from a dull ache at the back of her neck, she’s fine. Whiplash was probably the best possible outcome in her situation.

She checks the watch on her wrist that tells her it’s 3am. She’ll have to make camp in this fine establishment for the night, it seems. She doesn’t have to check for zombies, that she knows. The loud crash would have been an invitation for them to come out for a feast already. There were none. She’s safe.

She breathes a sigh of relief as she retrieves her surprisingly intact duffel bag full of stuff from the trunk, and another when she gets to sit peacefully on the toilet bowl, finally safe after a long night.

* * *

The first thing Jungeun wakes up to is Ronald McDonald in her face. Her breath hitches, and only breathes right when she registers that the clown was just a portrait on the wall.

Nothing like a zombie apocalypse to remind you how terrible your phobia of clowns is, am I right?

She groans, sitting up from where she is on the floor and turning away from the burdensome gaze of the red and yellow-clad clown.

_Time to find a new car._

With the rifle slung on her back and her bag uncomfortably slung to the front, she makes her way out.

Shuffling her feet along the road, she tries to spot for a functional car. Most of the cars were either covered in grime and blood, or basically scrap metal, like her once trusty Corolla. At least there were no zombies. Not yet anyway.

She walks until the sun is at its highest, beating down on her relentlessly. She shrugs off her denim jacket and uses it to cover her head instead, shielding herself from the sun. She had to leave her college dormitory in the middle of spring, when the apocalypse was just unfolding. Two months on, and now it was slowly turning into summer.

Perspiration dots her forehead as she continues her dreadful walk along the ghost town.

A couple of hours pass. Jungeun almost falls asleep, the consistent rhythm of her duffel bag hitting her thigh as she walked lulling her into slumber. Of course, she’s jolted awake seconds later with the grim realisation that not only is she (A) walking, but also (B), in the middle of Zombieland. She slaps herself on the cheeks, trying desperately to keep awake.

And that’s when she hears it. The revving of an engine. The sound of tyres rubbing against rough asphalt. It’s getting closer.

The dull humming grows louder. She can practically smell the leather of the car seats.

Finally, the vehicle turns the corner, driving straight at her. Whatever she was expecting… it wasn’t this.

Not a black van with flames spray painted on the sides. Not metal bumpers installed at the front, looking like it was designed to ram zombies out of the way. Not the number 9 plastered on said bumpers, shimmering in bright gold and intimidating the hell out of her. The vehicle skids to a stop, and Jungeun feels her heart stop along with it.

Who was inside? The mafia? Criminals that escaped from prison? The strangers her mother warned her not to take candy from?

Jungeun picks up a fallen bicycle from a few feet away, propping it up and crouching behind it. Her rifle is drawn, aimed at the window to the driver’s seat. With the sun now directly in her eyes, she can barely see who’s inside.

A mysterious figure gracefully exits, clearly a woman. She’s clad in all black and— was that a leather jacket? In the middle of summer?

  
The figure steps closer, and now Jungeun can see her face. Her jaw drops, and so does her rifle, ever so slightly.

She doesn’t know what she expected. A serial killer? Possibly. Big burly dude? Maybe. A kid with a buzzcut and a rebellious streak? Sure. Every scenario running through her head involved someone murderous and of the male species. Not _her_.

The woman draws her pistol at her, and that’s all it takes for her to snap back into reality. She hurriedly gets up, rifle aimed right at her chest.

“You alone?” It’s a smooth and sultry voice.

_Holy shit_. Jungeun nods. The palpitations of her beating heart grow faster as the prospect of the company of another living person. Or maybe because she’s attracted to girls and this person was one. A girl. _Holy shit._

“Need a ride?”

Jungeun nods even harder.

The woman lowers her gun, turning back to her van. Jungeun stays rooted, not knowing what to do. She opens the front door, frowning when she sees Jungeun. “You coming or what?”

Jungeun doesn’t need to be asked twice.

The first thing she does when she gets into the passenger seat is check the backseat. Then she puts on her seat belt.

Because Rule #32 and Rule #5 were essential for survival.

And the first thing Lady In Black does is raise a bottle of wine to her lips, and take a big gulp straight from it. Jungeun hasn’t closed her mouth yet, first from surprise, now in horror. If anything, the serial killer vibe she got from the woman just rose to new heights.

“Merlot?” Lady In Black offers.

“N-no thanks,” Jungeun stammers. She blames her squeaky voice on the fact that she hasn’t needed to speak to anyone in ages. Jungeun instinctively checks the backseat again, not sure what else there is to do. This time, she spots a bag that looks suspiciously like a body bag. _Oh no._

“Whatcha looking at? It’s just my shit back there.” Lady In Black looks at her with narrowed eyes.

“Um.. Uh… Nothing. I-I just have a checklist and everything so I run through the things I need to do in my head…” Her already small voice trails off when the woman chugs the remaining wine and throws the bottle out the window. The glass shatters and makes a sound loud enough to make Jungeun flinch.

She just laughs nervously when Lady In Black turns to glare at her. “So, uh… What’s your name? I’m—”

“No, no names. You’re a bit of a little bitch, has anyone told you that?”

“Kind of. Not exactly though. People usually call me a loser. I was never really part of the cool crowd or anything of that sort. Played video games and everything in college—“

She cuts her off again, “Bit of a talker too.” Jungeun keeps her mouth shut this time.

“I’ll call you Lip from now on cuz you just can’t stop talking. You can call me by the name of my van.” She points, directing Jungeun’s line of sight to a sticker pasted on the top right corner of the windshield.

Yves.

“Yuh-ves? Yuh… Yee…” Jungeun tries, immediately closing that mouth of hers when Yves rolls her eyes.

“It’s pronounced Eve. Like Adam and Eve.”

“Why not just spell it like E-V…” Yves glares at her. “OkayI’lljuststoptalking.”

“I’m heading south, to Busan. You either follow me or get out.”

South. Cheongju is south. That’s exactly where she’s heading. Jungeun nods.

“Cheongju.”

“Great,” Yves says while reaching behind her seat to grab at something. Jungeun realises quickly enough that it’s another bottle of wine. She scraps the metal off the top, and pulls out the cork, with only a Swiss Army Knife and a total of ten seconds.

“Pinot noir?” Jungeun shakes her head. She takes a swig, as if she wasn’t going to offer it anyway, before setting it down in the space between their seats.

The van starts as Jungeun mentally writes out Rule #33. _Don’t cross Yves_.

* * *

They drive for an hour or so, just as Jungeun comes to a realisation that Yves might not human.

Hear her out.

First, Yves drinks red wine and red wine only. Jungeun took a peek at her stash, searching for something light. Maybe like a beer, or a cider. She had none of those things. What if the red liquid wasn’t actually wine but blood? Was Yves a vampire? Since zombies exist, vampires sure as hell could too.

Secondly, she has a weird obsession with Chupa Chups. It might be the alcohol talking, but every now and then, Jungeun would hear her mumbling under her breath about wanting to find a lollipop. And not just any lollipop. A strawberry flavoured Chupa Chup lollipop.

And for those two reasons alone, Jungeun resists screaming at Yves when she brings them to a supermarket near the outskirts of town.

Yves needs her lollipop. Jungeun is too scared of her to call her a dumb bitch for wanting to offer herself to the zombies that are definitely lurking inside. They make an exceptional team.

When Yves opens up the body bag in the trunk, she half expects a limb or two to fall out.

And yet again, she’s surprised.

The bag was full of weapons. Machetes, knives, guns, ammunition… It was basically every serial killer’s wet dream.

“I raided the police station. And a restaurant,” Yves says with a snicker, picking up a chopper and lightly throwing it in the air. She catches it by the handle, but Jungeun flinches so hard that she barely sees that.

Yves offers her the machete, but Jungeun refuses since she thinks her rifle is good enough. She wouldn’t be able to handle another weapon anyway. With that, Yves walks away humming, leaving the shorter Jungeun to struggle to close the trunk of the van.

“Come on, Lip! I need my fuckin’ lolly!” She calls, strumming her banjo. _Wait, a BANJO? _

“Fuck it,” she mutters to herself, running after the other woman. Jungeun makes it through the front door, stepping inside the fully-lit, seemingly deserted supermarket.

Yves turns to look her up and down. Jungeun nods to signal that she’s ready.

And so she strums a tune. It sounds light-hearted, almost… fun.

Jungeun almost smiles. That is, until she realises there’s a zombie headed straight towards them, having heard the same playful tune Yves was playing, emerging from one of the aisles.

She points her rifle, aims, exhales and shoots. It’s a practiced shot. The zombie falls flat after receiving a shot to the thigh. Not to brag or anything, but she has gotten the hang of it in the few weeks since she picked it up near the decapitated body of a security guard.

Yves steps past the rows of cash registers, scanning the area. Suddenly a zombie surges from behind a tall stack of cans, knocking over the tower Campbell soup clumsily. It gnashes its teeth hungrily despite stumbling over the rolling cans, and Yves takes the opportunity to take a calculated step towards it before she buries the end of her banjo into its head. That poor thing. It looked like the zombie could have been a middle-aged woman who was shopping for her children before getting infected. Jungeun doesn’t have time to feel any more pity for the woman, because Yves has already brandished the foot-long machete from the shaft hanging on her belt, looking ready to kill another undead shopper running straight towards her.

She only realises how far up her throat her heart is when she hears the familiar sound of bone grinding against concrete. She turns, watching the zombie she had shot earlier climbing towards her on all fours, dragging its limp left leg with it.

She had forgotten Rule #2… Always make sure the zombie is dead. Like, really dead. Jungeun raises her rifle, and runs a little to gain momentum, before swinging her rifle as hard as she can, like she would a baseball bat, bashing in the cranium of the once-suburban-middle-aged-dad-turned-zombie.

Through ragged breaths, she raises her rifle and surveys her surroundings. Yves is looking at her, eyebrows raised, almost like she’s impressed. Jungeun lowers her gun.

“Go get your fucking lollipop,” Jungeun grunts, a weird feeling at the pit of her stomach. Is that feeling… bravery? _Holy shit_. Yves walks away from her without a word, actually off to find the candy she so badly wanted to eat.

Courage? Jungeun doesn’t know her. Not until now, at least. She smiles a little to herself, and lets a giggle slip before she can help it. Lucky for her, Yves doesn’t hear it. She clears her throat, feeling her cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

Ah, embarrassment. Now that was a feeling she knew all too well. This feels much better.

Yves turns into the aisle for candy, swinging her machete around casually. Jungeun follows behind her, jogging a little to catch up. They scour the long stretch of displayed candy, but there aren’t any Chupa Chups.

“Fuck! Why the fuck wouldn’t they have fucking lollipops? What the fuck!” Yves yells, sweeping a whole row of chocolate bars onto the ground in frustration. Jungeun jumps away by her sudden display of aggression, startled.

“I’m sure they’re somewhere…” Her earlier surge of courage goes down the drain when Yves glares at her murderously. _It isn’t even my fault that there aren’t any fucking lollipops! _

A loud crash from aisles away distracts themfrom the task at hand. Even in her rage, Yves registers the danger, and snaps her head up in the direction of the sound. They walk slowly, careful to make any further sound. There must have been another infected somewhere that was drawn to Yves’ screaming.

“Is anybody here?” A voice suddenly calls, scared. It was a plea more than anything else.

They both freeze immediately. It was a person. It was another living, breathing person. And it was a girl. Yves takes off before Jungeun can tell her they should be careful. She begrudgingly follows behind her.

She was a probably a college student like she was. She looked distraught, but even with tear-stained cheeks and messy hair, Jungeun can tell that she was very, very, very pretty. Jungeun resists gaping at how attractive the woman is. _Now is not the time!_

“Help, please… My sister… She’s been bitten.”

_Oh. Oh no…_

Jungeun's eyes soften, as she looks to her feet slowly. The girl probably believes in a cure that doesn't exist. "I'm sorry but we can't help you..."

"You have a gun," she comments briefly, before turning away. Jungeun furrows her eyebrows in confusion.

The girl looks over to the back of the store, where said sister sits, huddle in a corner. The duo follow her line of sight, solemn. The poor girl is hugging her knees, looking absolutely frightened.

“Hey, Yeojin, it’s okay. I found these people,” the girl says, running to her sister’s side to comfort her.

“They have guns?” The smaller girl asks in a small voice, looking down to her hands. Her sister nods.

"It'll be quick."

Yves gasps in realisation. "She wants us to shoot her."

“Wait,” Jungeun speaks up timidly, “You want us to use my gun? On… On you?”

"Yes."

Yeojin, who looks about fifteen, nods with determination. The older sister turns away from her sister, not wanting to let her see her sob even harder than she already was. “Haseul… Stop. We already decided this. And now we have a gun. It’s okay…”

Jungeun’s earlier fears are replaced entirely by pity and overwhelming sadness. Haseul breathes deeply, pressing a kiss to her sister’s forehead before turning to Jungeun.

“Please do it.”

“What, me? I can’t!”

“You have to!”

A few beats pass as the two college students stare at each other while Jungeun contemplates.

“I’ll do it,” Yves interrupts, taking the gun. “I’m really sorry kid. You’re really brave. I respect that.”

“Thanks,” Yeojin says with a weak grin, before turning to Haseul, “I love you.”

Yves takes a deep breath before raising the rifle. Jungeun takes a few steps back.

“I love you too,” Haseul chokes out, peeling away from Yeojin. Yves steps closer, aiming at her head, faltering a little when Yeojin squeezes her eyes shut.

“Wait!” Haseul suddenly yells, “I’ll do it. It’s not fair to ask of you to do this.”

“I… As you wish,” Yves complies when Haseul looks at her with glossy eyes, handing her the gun.

Haseul holds it gingerly in her hands, getting a feel for it. She raises the rifle to Yeojin’s head. Jungeun looks away, shutting her eyes and covering her ears, expecting the loud gunshot that will take away this poor girl’s life.

But it never comes.

She opens one eye, only to see Yves with her hands up in the air, Haseul pointing the rifle at her head instead. Yeojin stands up, a smug grin on her face, looking nothing like an infected person.

Zombieland survival Rule #20? Never give your weapon to a stranger.

“We’ve been duped,” Jungeun says.

“Yeah, no shit,” Yves spits, staring Haseul down. Haseul just smiles at her, wiping the tears off her face with the hand that isn’t on the trigger.

“Sorry. It’s every woman for themselves in this world. Also, I’ll take that,” Haseul snickers, tilting her chin towards the machete hung on Yves’s belt. The woman sighs, letting Yeojin remove the weapon without any resistance. The teenager swings it around happily, laughing at the sorry sight in front of them.

“Car keys?” Haseul asks. When Yves doesn’t budge, Haseul holds the rifle firmly with both her hands, and pulls her finger back ever so slightly.

“Man, fuck you!” Yves rummages around her jacket pocket and fishes out the keys, handing them to Yeojin.

“It was lovely to meet you too!” Haseul mocks, backing away from them. Jungeun gapes at them, her jaw only dropping further when Haseul winks at her. Yeojin pulls open the back exit, and the sisters run out, leaving not just laughter, but two very pitiful ladies in their wake.

* * *

Jungeun doesn’t expect the transition back to walking to be this easy. She doesn’t have her duffel bag, or her rifle, so things are a lot easier to deal with. Or maybe, the fact that she can’t get Haseul out of her mind was enough of a distraction for her to forget about the absolute pain of having to travel on foot.

Haseul. Jungeun wants to see her again. Something about her just intrigued her deeply. Was it the fact that she completely tricked them?

_Yves seems to think otherwise._

That thought seems to arrive with perfect timing, as Yves stumbles over a brick on the road. That seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, as the Lady In Black finally releases all her pent up frustration and anger, picking up the brick and hurling it at the nearest car. The window shatters satisfyingly, fueling the woman even further. Jungeun winces as she watches Yves take everything out on the poor Prius. She even retreives a baseball bat that was inside the car, only to use it to destroy the rest of the car.

“MOTHERFUCKER! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!”

“Yves, can we just—“

“YVES IS GONE! THAT FUCKING HASEUL BITCH TOOK HER AWAY FROM ME! FUCKING FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!”

With each “fuck”, Yves (or whatever her name is now that Yves the van is gone) hits the hood of the Prius, leaving a dent deep enough for Jungeun to hide in after she’s done.

“Alright, I’m alright now,” Yves-or-whatever-her-name-is says, panting. She throws the battered baseball bat behind her, and it falls with a noisy clatter that causes Jungeun to jump a little.

Yves laughs soullessly at that. “Lip. You’re really lame, you know that?”

“I’m not the one who was looking for a damn lollipop and lost her van in the process,” Jungeun answers honestly. Yves laughs softly again, this time a little more genuinely. That makes Jungeun smile as well.

Maybe they could be friends, she thinks. That’s one more friend than she's had in the past 20 years anyway.

Did she mention she was a loser _and_ a loner? Guess now would be an appropriate time to reveal that Jungeun’s never had a real friend since kindergarten, after her best friend pushed her into the sandpit. It was a stylistic choice to remain a lone wolf for the formative years she spent in primary school, and soon enough, it just became habit. She never saw the need to make friends anyway. They would just disappoint her.

But Yves… She finds herself wanting to call this person her friend. She’s never had someone go through so much with her, ever. And weirdly enough, she trusts her. Even if she does turn out to be a vampire, Jungeun would be okay with it, she thinks.

"Wish I had my lollipop," Yves comments randomly.

Jungeun snickers, "As if that hasn't brought you enough trouble already. Why are you so insistent on finding it?"

"They're my favourite," Yves replies with a shrug.

"What, lollipops?" She asks again with a laugh.

"Don't laugh," Yves says with a frown, "It's important to me."

"Alright, I won't. But if you want to get back at me, I guess you can enjoy the fact that I have a terrible fear of clowns."

"Hah," Yves snorts, "Chuu hated clowns."

Jungeun's eyes widen at the mention of someone else. "Chuu? Like Chupa-"

"She is... _was_ my dog," Yves cuts in, looking to the ground.

Oh. Guess not.

"I had one chunky ass dog. His name was Janggun. Overweight, lazy, lived his best life and then died of old age. Maybe they'll form an alliance in doggy heaven. Like we have!" She doesn't know what prompted her to comfort the woman like this, but she feels relieved when Yves flashes a smile back.

"Maybe. That'll be nice. Chuu was tiny. She'll be well taken care of by Janggun."

Jungeun nods, reassuring her, "I'm sure she's better off up there than here on this shithole of a world anyway."

Yves huffs in reply, labouriously dragging her feet. In a while, Jungeun hears her steps getting lighter.

The silence is comfortable, Jungeun thinks. She doesn't feel all that intimidated by the woman next to her anymore. A dog owner can't possibly be a serial killer. Not when she spoke of Chuu in such a tender way.

They continue the walk as the day draws to a close. They seek refuge in a motel, making sure it was completely rid of zombies before stepping foot into it.

“We’ll share a room,” Yves says, “Take turns to keep a lookout.”

Jungeun complies. It did make sense. Yves lets her sleep first, which she gratefully accepts. The moment her head touches the pillow, she drifts into unconsciousness, exhausted from the day’s events.

* * *

“LIP!”

She jolts awake, noticing that sunlight is already streaming through the windows. Wasn’t she supposed to take second watch?

“LIP!” It’s Yves shouting for her, back pressed against the door to their room. By the looks of it, there were zombies right outside, pushing and groaning against the flimsy wooden door.

“SHIT!” She curses, jumping to her feet. Jungeun runs to Yves’ side, helping her press against the door. “What do we do?”

“Uh, uh, bed! The bed! Use it to barricade the door. We’ll jump out the window.”

Rule #16. Don't act tough.

Jungeun turns to her with wide eyes, her fear of heights suddenly eclipsing any fear she felt for the zombies. “Are you fucking insane?!”

“Yes,” Yves answers simply, jumping away from the door. Jungeun shouts at her, feeling the force pushing against her increase tenfold. She struggles to pin her body weight against the door, yelling for Yves to help her. The woman does, shifting the single bed in the room with her own strength.

Jungeun moves out of the way just as Yves rams the bed into the door. One of them manages to stick a leg through the door, and Jungeun sees bone sticking out when Yves pushes against the bed with all her strength.

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck,” Jungeun repeats as Yves pulls her roughly by the wrist. She opens the window, and easily seats herself on the ledge.

Jungeun tries to follow suit, only managing to get one leg across. She can’t even bear to look down.

“Come on!”

“Okay, okay, just, just let me let me count to ten okay?”

“I’ll give you a hand!” Yves tells her firmly, “We don’t have time, Lip!” As if on cue, the bed shifts, metal legs screeching against tiles noisily. An infected nearly slips out, half of its body already making its way into the room.

Jungeun closes her eyes, inhaling deeply. Suddenly her other leg is pulled roughly over the ledge, her eyes opening in shock. Yves has one hand on her elbow to steady her. They’re lucky that the ledge is just wide enough for them to sit on without the threat of falling just yet.

“Just follow what I do!” With just that simple command, Yves lifts her butt off the ledge, falling a few metres before expertly landing on her toes, knees bending as she disperses the energy with a forward roll. Parkour. Jungeun’s only seen it on video before.

And now she has to do it. She turns behind, catching the sight of a zombie successfully getting into the room. It heads straight for her, teeth all ready to sink into her neck.

For the first time in her life, she whispers a prayer.

And she jumps.

She tries her best to emulate whatever she saw, but something goes wrong right when her feet make contact with the asphalt. There’s a sickening crack, and the rest of her body falls to the ground, along with every bit of will in her to live.

Everything fucking HURTS.

Yves tries to pick her up off the floor, but Jungeun can barely stand without having to scream. The zombies seem to have figured out where they were, and were hurling themselves out of the window. The first one unfortunately lands on its own head, decorating the white walls with black and red blood.

Jungeun tries her best to hop on her good foot, an arm around Yves’ shoulder. They need a car if they were going to survive.

“There! That Jeep!” Yves exclaims, practically dragging Jungeun’s entire body weight with her arm. “C’mon, just a little more. Hey, hey! Stay awake, stay with me Lip!”

Jungeun fights off the grogginess, focusing all her energy on getting to the Jeep. There isn’t a hood on the car, so they could jump in with no problem. Maybe her prayer did work.

Or not. She can hear the loud thuds of the zombies landing on the ground, but she doesn’t have it in her to turn and see. By the way Yves is despearately running, she reckons there must be at least one hot on their heels.

She’s right. Yves leaves her to stand on her own as she clambers into the vehicle first, reaching over to grab her. She’s pulled headfirst into the car, landing clumsily in the backseat. There’s a crowbar tucked underneath the driver’s seat, which Yves uses to fight off the zombie climbing up the side of the car. Jungeun spots something shiny on the floor, only registering what it was when Yves yells out that they don’t have the car key.

“Here!” She picks it up, handing it over to the woman in front.

“Shit shit shit,” she hears her say, using the crowbar to fight off two zombies at once. Jungeun kicks one of them in the face with her good leg, sending it flying off the side just as the engine starts. Another satisfying hit on the head with a crowbar later, the zombie falls from the side of the Jeep, and they’re off.

Jungeun falls asleep to the rocking of the vehicle, the pain in her shoulder and ankle dulling to an ache.

* * *

_“Hey, Jungeun.”_

_“H-Haseul?! How do you know my name?” _

_Haseul doesn't reply, just floats away from her. Jungeun feels a sense of helplessness as she reaches for the girl, only for Haseul to pull out a rifle and shoot her before disappearing. _

“AH!”

Jungeun sits up hurriedly, realising belatedly that she was still in the car, which was still stationary. She sits up in cold sweat. _What the hell was that?_

Speaking of which… she registers the blinding pain in her right ankle now that she’s fully conscious. She bites down on her tongue, holding back what would have been a hiss or a groan.

“Yves?” She calls to a figure in the distance. She’s poking around a black van in the distance, which is looking pretty thrashed.

_Wait, that’s… YVES’ VAN?!_

It was undeniably hers, from the flames, to the giant 9, to the metal bumpers.

“Hey!” A figure springs to her side, swinging open the door to the backseat.

“AH!” She yelps, ducking when she hears the cocking of a rifle. It’s a familiar-looking rifle.

“What the— YEOJIN?!”

The girl smiles at her sweetly, aiming the barrel of the gun to her head as she climbs in. “I call shotgun! Wait, should I call rifle since I’m holding a rifle?”

Jungeun stares at her in shock, shifting her legs as Yeojin takes a seat beside her.

“Oh, close that mouth of yours. You look like an idiot. Anyways, you should watch. My sister’s about to ambush your friend.”

Jungeun squints her eyes. Indeed, Yves was still rummaging through the van looking for her stuff. She barely notices Haseul emerging from the bushes by the roadside.

It was a familiar sight. Yves looking pissed off with her hands up in surrender, and Haseul pointing a gun to her head. They slowly make their way back to the Jeep, where Jungeun still refuses to believe her eyes. Seeing Haseul again was so minuscule in its probability that Jungeun can’t help but think it was the work of the heavens. Maybe, just maybe, they were meant to meet each other again.

“What a sucker,” Yeojin comments with a laugh. Jungeun snaps out of her Haseul-induced daze, only now realising that she was being taken hostage. _Oh fuck, not again._

She sighs when Yves is forced to enter the passenger seat, while Haseul takes the driver’s seat. Yves just mouths a ‘sorry’ to her when she sends ‘what the fuck!’ telepathically through her widened eyes.

“Fancy seeing you again!” Haseul chirps happily to Jungeun. If she weren’t busy feeling like an idiot, she might have felt flustered.

“Yeah, you too,” she groans. She hears Yves muttering curses under her breath.

“Sorry we crashed your van,” Yeojin says. Yves turns to glare at her, only to get a pistol held to her head courtesy of Haseul.

This time however, Yves reacts faster than Haseul does. She grabs her wrist, twisting it, and with her free hand, catches the gun that falls out of Haseul’s grip as she winces in pain.

Yeojin points the gun at Yves just as the pistol is pointed at her.

_No. This isn’t it! _After all she’d been through with Yves, Jungeun feels the urge to tell them that they should be sticking together. That they would make a better team that way. She knows she’s right. She would have died without Yves, for sure.

And so she raises her voice, commanding them to stop.

“We’re probably the only ones left in this fucking area! Can we just stop fighting and stick together, please? The real enemies here are the ZOMBIES, just in case you’ve forgotten.”

“She’s right,” Yves says. She lowers her pistol as a sign of good will, but makes sure to keep it away from Haseul’s reach. The girl looks between the Jungeun and Yves, as if deciding what to do.

“Haseul?” Yeojin asks in confusion.

Jungeun nods, hoping the message gets through to her. Haseul holds her earnest gaze for two seconds before relenting.

“Alright,” Haseul says, “we’ll stick together.”

“Great. Where are you headed?”

“Busan,” Yeojin answers before Haseul, who looks like she’s hesitating, can.

“So am I,” Yves says simply, nodding at Haseul. She turns around to face Jungeun, “Cheongju for the loser.”

"Hey!"

Haseul snickers. “Okay… Busan and Cheongju. Can either of you drive?”

Yves looks at her incredulously. “You can’t?”

“I’m gay,” is all Haseul replies. Jungeun chokes on air. “Gays can’t drive.”

“So am I. I can drive.” Yves crosses her arms, continuing with a snarl, “You crashed my precious van because you couldn’t drive.”

Jungeun’s jaw drops again. _What are the odds that the three women sitting in the same car were all gay?_

“Hey, it was survival instinct, okay? I’m sorry, if that counts for anything now.”

“Whatever. Get out, I’ll drive.”

“I called shotgun!” Yeojin whines.

All three of them roll their eyes. Haseul relents anyway, ending up in the backseat next to Jungeun who shifts away slightly, not too fond of being in close proximity with someone so pretty, yet untrustworthy.

Haseul smiles at her, sensing her discomfort. “What’s your name?”

“Kim…” It’s almost instinctive, to want to say her real name. But something holds her back. The same cowardice that has been holding her back her whole life. There's a dilemma here that justifies her hesitance, she tries to reason with herself. _Haseul isn't trustworthy. Damn it._

“…Lip.”

“Kim Lip? That’s unique,” Haseul remarks softly. _What kind of fucking name is Kim Lip? Jungeun, you idiot! Fuck!_

“Yeah, just Lip is fine. That’s uh… Yves,” Jungeun tries again not to stutter. She’s still not very good at this socialising thing.

Haseul hums. Jungeun secretly mourns the loss of conversation now that Haseul has turned away to look at the scenery. The car starts, and the wind gets so loud that they can barely hear themselves. Yves finally figures out which button to presses to trigger the convertible hood, and they finally get a little peace. When she finally feels brave enough to attempt conversation with Haseul, the girl is already sleeping, her head bouncing along with the bumps in the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i always feel like i'll be opening a can of worms if i said i was taking requests so... i'm not saying i'm taking requests i'm just saying if you have some prompts/scenarios you'd like to talk about, my dms and cc are always open. winkity dink
> 
> cc: [here](https://curiouscat.me/2jinverse)  
twt: [@2jinverse](https://twitter.com/2jinverse)


	7. fuck them kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yvesoul + chaewon where sooyoung is a good girlfriend, but an even better mother

“Mom, can I go to the fair?”

Sooyoung narrows her eyes, sipping her coffee slowly. Chaewon’s already dressed and ready to leave. She’s asking but not  _ exactly _ asking.

“Who are you going with?”

“Hyejoo and Yerim. You know, the kids that  _ you _ scarred. We’re going there to forget.”

Okay, this isn't the first time Chaewon is guilt-tripping her into doing anything. Who could ever forget _"Mom, you deprived me of ever experiencing having a paternal figure in my life because you're gay. I love you and you're the best mother ever but really? The least you could do to make it up to me is pay for my concert tickets"_? It definitely is the most hilarious, and the most valid one yet. Sooyoung almost laughs at the memory: her back colliding against the door to her bedroom, Jinsoul pushing up against her to reconnect their lips, said door opening to reveal three teenage girls looking at them in horror, Chaewon _screaming_. 

Chaewon still looks pissed off. It’s been two weeks since that happened. Sooyoung decides she shouldn’t be laughing. 

She bites her tongue. “Can I go with you guys?”

“No!”

“I’ll pay for everything.”

Her daughter places both hands on her hips, raising her eyebrows as she asks, “Can you pay for that memory to be erased from our minds?”

Sooyoung blinks. It's only in times like these that she finds it a bane that Chaewon is a little too much like her. 

“Alright, alright. Have fun, sweetheart! I know I will…”

Chaewon walks out, mumbling curses she thinks her mother can’t hear under her breath. Sooyoung on the other hand…

“Hey, my daughter’s not at home.”

_ “...I’m on my way.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i always feel like i'll be opening a can of worms if i said i was taking requests so... i'm not saying i'm taking requests i'm just saying if you have some prompts/scenarios you'd like to talk about, my dms and cc are always open. winkity dink
> 
> cc: [here](https://curiouscat.me/2jinverse)  
twt: [@2jinverse](https://twitter.com/2jinverse)


	8. now, is it you now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chuulip where haha um whatt iff they heldd hands perrforming butterfly haha.. just joking… unless?

three things cannot long be hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

jiwoo knows the first two to be true. factual. cold hard science. clear as day.

the truth, though? she’s not too sure about that.

because the fact of the matter- the truth, if you would like to call it that- is this: jiwoo loves jungeun. and not in the best friend way, or the mega best friend way, the gal pal way, or in any platonic way, shape or form. jiwoo likes jungeun romantic-styles; the yves to her chuu, maybe even, except it isn’t in a narrative their company made up.

it’s the truth. it’s her reality. not chuu’s. but kim jiwoo’s. how she wishes it wasn’t the case.

what's so good about jungeun anyway?

her unabashedly confident self? her effortless beauty? her incredibly hard-working personality? her intelligence? her caring nature that she masks behind nonchalance? her talent?

okay. jiwoo has it bad for jungeun. you got her there.

the practice room haunts her for more reasons than one. reasons aside from the usual muscle-aching, fat-burning training that goes on in there; reasons that have her fearing every single time they step in (or gets dragged in by jungeun herself), only for jungeun to turn on a random song, only for her to dance to it, and only for jiwoo to fall, fall, and fall in the most literal and metaphorical sense. there’s a bruise on her knee that is quite the spectacle, a growing myriad of blue and black and purple. she does not relish having to explain that she was just watching _someone_ dance to ‘roller coaster’, got distracted, and tripped over herself.

or was it ‘the eve’? or was it both… she can’t really remember.

(it was both.)

she had also clapped her hands and screamed really loudly, but she likes to pretend it never happened.

anyways. back to your regularly scheduled kim jungeun breakdowns. jiwoo’s had a few of those, mainly of the pretending-you’re-not-watching-as-she-body-rolls-to-yeolgi-but-you-definitely-are sort. she’s taken one too many trips to the bathroom every time it happens. either to splash some water on her face, or bang her head against the wall in peace. it’s usually both, one after another, rinse and repeat.

‘butterfly’ promotions give her a little breather, or so she thought. her feelings are easy to evade as the concert rolls near, mainly because they practice separately. jiwoo spends most her time with yyxy or with the entire crew- a far cry from their “best friend only” practices, or the occasional time sooyoung or heejin tags along.

she tries not to dwell on the extremely grim implications of falling for her best friend, her bandmate, her colleague, and her biggest confidante, all at once.

* * *

it's almost unfair, how much of an effect jungeun has on jiwoo.

it's been a week seen she'd watched jungeun essentially perform witchcraft with a chair, and she has taken to not entering oec's practice room while she was at it.

(_“have you seen jungeun performing twilight yet?” jinsouls asks her one day. she grins like she knows it’s jiwoo’s favourite song (not just of jungeun’s, but in general). it is._

_she gulps. “no?”_

_yerim abruptly appears from behind jinsoul, giving her a look of pity (was that pity or sympathy?). “oh, unnie... good luck! you need it.”_

_she’s shoved into the practice room next to where yyxy is taking a little break. the familiar intro starts, and jiwoo barely processes what she’s seeing, mainly because she doesn’t want to. jinsoul pulls her to the ground before her knees can even go weak. jungeun's literally just standing there._

_it's 3am again today, jungeun sings._

_what the flying fuck, jiwoo thinks._

_she shuts her eyes._

_“open your eyes,” jinsoul says with a laugh. “it's not life or death, jiwoo." she doesn't miss the way haseul pipes in, turning behind to tell her, "not yet anyway."_

_turns out haseul, coy smirk and smugness and all, is right. jungeun places her leg on the chair- that goddamn chair- and jiwoo basically ascends to heaven. she also runs a hand through her hair, like she always does. 'heart attack' was made for her for a reason; she might have just had three, all at once._

_jungeun tears away the long skirt hiding her thighs after the song ends._

_oh well. make that four heart attacks._)

still, she finds her face getting hot again during practice, despite her best efforts.

who else could she blame for her reddened cheeks and sweaty palms in the middle of winter? jungeun. no prize for guessing that correctly.

their hands just grazed. that was it. she had to do a full run of 'butterfly' smiling to herself like a fool because her hands grazed jungeun's in the opening line. that was it.

one unintentional graze.

jungeun leans into her back, resting her head on her shoulder. they're monitoring themselves from the ipad screen. jiwoo hopes jungeun doesn't notice the silly smile she has on the entire song, inconspicuously there after their hands _grazed _on their way down. she also hopes jungeun can get the fuck off her, because now the warmth on her back is distracting her from the important things. somebody says something about needing to be synchronised while lying down, something about drilling that part after a break, something about- oh no.

sooyoung is going to make them repeat the opening part over and over again until they can get it down. jiwoo breathes deeply through her nose. the break ends barely any time after she gets a sip of water in.

"five, six, seven, eight!"

right hand over chest. left hand over chest. hands up. hands flip. hands down by her sides and... graze.

"again!"

right hand over chest. left hand over chest. hands up. hands flip. hands down. _graze_.

"again!"

right hand over chest. left hand over chest. hands up. hands flip. hands down. no graze. jiwoo's hand ends up on top of jungeun's, a millisecond too slow in catching the timing.

and barely a second later, jungeun's hand sneaks out from under hers, and ends up on top of hers. the tingling she gets intensifies so greatly that she does the first logical thing that pops up in her mind.

she grabs jungeun's hand.

when the girl whips her head over to look at jiwoo, presumably to ask what that was about, jiwoo can't find it in herself to look over. her peripheral vision and hearing do all the work for her. jungeun is smiling.

"kim jiwoo," she murmurs teasingly. "do it properly."

she doesn't have time to dwell on her words before sooyoung shouts "again!".

she tries her best not to think about that part, and just focus on her own dancing. this time, jungeun's hand ends up on hers again; definitely a calculated move.

lord help her.

"stop that!"

"what?" jungeun asks through laughter. she takes a sip of her water, amused at jiwoo's unfounded irritation.

"you distracted me from practicing and had the nerve to tell me to do it properly?!"

"what?" jungeun asks again.

"i'm talking," jiwoo says in a low voice, "about your bloody hand."

"you must have really liked it. why's my hand touching yours such a big deal anyway? we literally start the song off holding hands. we held hands in school. we hold hands all the time."

jiwoo takes one look at the playful expression on jungeun's face and rolls her eyes. "now you're just straight up teasing me."

"and you've finally noticed," jungeun laughs again. as much as jiwoo loves the sound of that, she's getting more annoyed by the second. "it's not a big deal. who's going to notice?"

"me! i'm going to notice!"

"keep noticing it, then."

jiwoo grits her teeth, and does what she does best: insult her best friend. "stupid."

jungeun doesn't miss a beat. "idiot."

"stupid idiot."

"kim jiwoo is the bigger stupid idiot."

"kim jungeun-"

sooyoung jumps into their conversation (literally), effectively ending their discourse. she places both arms around them, drawing them close to her.

"my dearest babies, my favourite kids, my lovable members... if y'all don't shut up i will personally put tape across your mouth. chaewon's trying to sleep!"

the girl, indeed, has knocked out on the floor beside them. jiwoo clamps her own hand over her mouth. jungeun mocks her, but when met with sooyoung's threatening gaze, does the same. jiwoo can't help the giggle that escapes her.

practice goes on as usual. jiwoo gets into a habit of holding jungeun's hand when they have to get up together, right after that move.

* * *

a month later, they're performing 'butterfly' on stage for the first time. yeojin just got hurt; they won't be whole. that's all jiwoo can think about while walking into formation. her heart pounds loudly in her chest. and while the screams of the thousands in the crowd drown out some of the symptoms of her nerves, they do nothing to calm it.

jungeun seems to notice a little too late. they lock eyes seconds before entering the stage, the backstage too hectic for them to have properly exchanged words prior. she wants to tell her that she did great for everything prior, but forgets to. a simple nod is all she gives, and she's following heejin into the darkness, guided only by the light of the screen and neon tape on the stage floor.

jungeun's hand finds hers first for the opening move. it's sweaty, she realises, alongside the fact that this is probably the most nervous jungeun has ever been in her life. she was already on edge the entire weekend, and now with one member down, jiwoo can't begin to comprehend how she must be feeling. how they all must be feeling.

jungeun squeezes her hand tightly in hers first. jiwoo reciprocates, turning to glance at her, only to find that jungeun's already looking at her. they're knelt in their positions, supposedly ready for the song to start, yet jungeun's head is tilted towards hers and not the ground like it's supposed to be.

and then, a thumb brushes across her knuckles. she snaps out of her slight daze enough to see that jungeun is smiling reassuringly at her. the simple gesture is tender, gentle, and loving; everything jungeun is when she wishes to be. above all, it's soothing, and she feels herself calm down enough to take the breath she was unaware she had been holding.

jungeun's gaze drops. she also lets her head fall into place. the music starts.

right hand over chest. left hand over chest. hands up. hands flip. hands down. hands joined by their fluttering fingertips; and then they get up. the song goes on, and jiwoo sings and dances her heart out.

she reckons it was her best run yet.

* * *

they're at music bank this time, weeks and weeks of promotions, numerous performances, and countless public hand-holdings later.

when the music starts, the familiar instrumental building softly before sooyoung's voice, is when jiwoo suddenly realises that she and jungeun have always been a little different as best friends.

they're not "2jin"; hyunjin and heejin have a specific connection no one else seems to understand. like how heejin's hand seems to fit snugly into hyunjin's, even their flaws and strengths complement each other perfectly. heejin doesn't know when to stop being serious, while hyunjin isn't aware of when she should stop goofing around, so they meet somewhere in the middle. 

they're not hyejoo, chaewon and yerim; the three are alike in so many ways, and have taken to calling each other soulmates. chaewon and yerim did take some time to warm up to each other, no thanks to the "celuv tv incident" that effectively made hyejoo choose between the two as her best friends, but as long as it was hyejoo caught in the middle, it was never bound to be long-lasting drama anyway. she always found a way to make hearts melt for her, and the two were never an exception to that rule.

they're not any of them, and that's because jiwoo loves jungeun, not in the best friend way, or the mega best friend way, the gal pal way, or in any platonic way, shape or form. jiwoo likes jungeun romantically, authentically, and organically, far outside the narrative their company made up. and perhaps their friendship may be similar to that of the aforementioned because of the number of lines they cross, blur and demolish sometimes, but their dynamic is still so uniquely _them, _whatever the hell that means.

_now, is it you now?_

hyejoo's voice starts. she quickly decides not to dwell on that. there's too much that can happen when you worry about things that are out of your control, and jiwoo has never been much of a worrier, anyway. for now, she just has to focus on holding jungeun's hand.

and maybe, that's all there is to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i always feel like i'll be opening a can of worms if i said i was taking requests so... i'm not saying i'm taking requests i'm just saying if you have some prompts/scenarios you'd like to talk about, my dms and cc are always open. winkity dink
> 
> cc: [here](https://curiouscat.me/2jinverse)  
twt: [@2jinverse](https://twitter.com/2jinverse)


	9. the good place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chuuves where sooyoung ends up in the good place by mistake

_ Welcome! Everything is fine. _

The brightly painted green words seem to pop out of the wall. She feels a sense of calmness wash over her. Well, everything is fine. 

If she even knew where the hell she was. The small room only consisted of her, the grey sofa she woke up on, and those sickeningly green words. Four yellow walls, and no windows or doors. Was she kidnapped?

"Ha Sooyoung?" A lady stands at a doorway to her left-- which she swore wasn't there a moment ago-- calling her name. Did she come for an appointment?

She follows the strange woman into what must be her office, judging by the piles of files and rudimentary painting-on-the-wall, and takes a seat opposite her. The lady smiles, and Sooyoung notices that she is sort of pretty. 

(Sort of. Sooyoung has always been stingy with her compliments.)

Her eyes seem to disappear when she flashes a bright smile. 

"Hi, I'm Haseul. And you, Ha Sooyoung, are dead."

"I'm what now?" She laughs nervously, thinking of it as some kind of prank. A chill runs down her spine. If she really is dead, then everything would make sense-- from the doorways popping out of nowhere, the welcome sign, this mysterious lady-

"See, when people die, they get sorted into either The Good Place or The Bad Place. Think of it like karma points. You..."

Sooyoung holds her breath.

"...are in The Good Place." Haseul finishes it with a smile. 

"That's relieving," Sooyoung replies, hoping she sounded as chirpy as Haseul did. She can't get rid of the growing nervousness at the bottom of her stomach. "How did I die?"

"It makes perfect sense that you don't remember. You were caught in a collapsed building trying to rescue children trapped under the debris. Very brave of you, I must say. There's no doubt you belong here, in The Good Place."

"I did what now?" 

"The local aid workers there even sang you a song as goodbye when they dug you out..." Haseul sniffs, and has to excuse herself to grab a tissue.

"Right, right, I bet it was beautiful."

_ There's been a mistake. _

"Yes, but enough about the past. You have been through too much. Now it's time for you to enjoy paradise," Haseul says, shooting her a little wink, her former display of sadness now completely replaced with excitement. "Let me show you around the neighbourhood."

_ I don't belong here. _

* * *

_ I hate children. And fallen buildings. I've never even left Seoul. _

Oh boy.

When Haseul proudly announced that she designed the neighbourhood herself, she was expecting a few streets of houses and maybe even a nice pond. 

(Truthfully, she didn't think that highly of Haseul. Girl looks like she's a teenager.)

Not this. Not a beautifully decorated street lined with cafes and frozen yoghurt places, gourmet restaurants and garnished, like a cherry on top of a cupcake, with a marble fountain in the middle. 

Hell, she didn't even expect to be able to eat. She is dead, after all.

_ How did I actually die? Overdose on Mountain Dew? _ She pauses, recalling her love for the drink. _ Wait, that's actually probable. _

Haseul's explaining something about ranks and shit and how she's on top of the Good People list with the most points and whatever-

"Sounds cool, yeah. Do you know anywhere I can get some uh, Mountain Dew?" 

"Oh yeah! I forgot to tell you about the best thing about paradise," Haseul smiles mysteriously, like she does every few seconds when she's trying to explain a cool new feature she designed about the neighbourhood to Sooyoung. She clears her throat, sounding serious when she calls "Yerim!"

A girl, Yerim she assumes, materialises out of thin air. Sooyoung stumbles back a few steps in surprise with an ungraceful "argh!".

"Hi there, I'm Yerim! I'm your informational assistant here in The Good Place. How can I help you?"

"Ah, Yerim, great to see you. She's a walking database. And a very good assistant. Yerim, a glass of Mountain Dew please, for our newest resident."

Yerim conjures a glass of the yellowish green liquid that she adores so much out of nowhere. While she accepts it gratefully, she can't help but manifest some kind of doubt about Yerim's presence.

"She knows everything in the universe!"

Sooyoung almost spits out her drink. "E-everything?"

Yerim-- who frankly just looks like that overeager cashier she used to work with at the bar-- nods enthusiastically at her. "ASK ME ANYTHING!"

Sooyoung gulps the remaining of her Mountain Dew, relishing in its familiarity. She looks around at the faces of the other residents. They were probably all good-- maybe even great-- people that deserved to be in The Good Place. 

"Get me another glass of this, please."

* * *

They stroll past the Lake of Eternal Bliss, which Sooyoung thinks is a glorified quarry filled with water that isn't mosquito-infested. Haseul also brings her to the Natural Reserve for Mystical and Extinct Animals. Sooyoung comes face-to-face with a Stegosaurus, which really makes her day. Haseul even shows her around the neighbourhood, greeting some people they see along the way. 

She notices something odd. People always seemed to be in pairs. 

But nevermind that. Haseul had promised to bring her to her residency after they finished the tour. She's excited about that, at least. Residents of the neighbourhood lived either in mansions, or plus-sized mansions. And she was going to get one for herself. Amazing. 

Haseul leads her to a literal castle, and she suppresses a scream.

Except she turns a corner right before the main gate to the castle, and leads her down a narrow pathway in the woods. They head towards a bright peach-coloured cottage that looks like it came right out of a fairytale, with the polka-dotted mushroom head as its roof and all.

"Isn't this exactly what you wanted as a child? A romantic little cottage in the woods," Haseul sighs. "And in the middle of nature, of course."

Right on cue, a bird chirps loudly from the canopy above, and Sooyoung flinches on instinct. 

She hates birds. And nature. This isn't her dream house. But Haseul doesn't need to know that. Nobody would risk leaving paradise just because their house for the rest of eternity didn't live up to quite the grandeur they were expecting. 

(This is better than going to The Bad Place. She'd asked Yerim what it was like, and gotten a live audio stream of what was happening there. Sooyoung had only heard screams of pain, and what she can only imagine as the sound of skin sizzling. Apparently, it never stops.)

"There's one last surprise for you," Haseul continues, literally shaking with excitement. "Here, everyone gets someone that is statistically and chemically the best match for you in the whole universe. That person is your soulmate that you will spend a happy eternity with. And she's waiting inside for you."

_ Oh fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. Fuck! _

"I'm sure she's dying to meet you, haha, get it? Dying! She's already dead."

"Haha," she reciprocates soullessly. 

Crossing her fingers as Haseul pushes open the door, she prays to all the gods she never believed in that her soulmate isn't a tattletale.

* * *

Haseul leaves shortly after she gets introduced to her soulmate. She almost choked on her spit when the girl had flashed a blinding smile, with her long, light brown hair and bangs making her look more adorable than anything else. 

"Ha Sooyoung. Social worker whose greatest work was building a chain of self-sustaining NGOs that lifted millions out of poverty in the developing world. I say world, because Sooyoung has literally been everywhere, haven't you?" Haseul trails on about hunger strikes and political revolts, while her soulmate looks on with admiration, and what seems like pride. 

She laughs nervously again. It seems to be a reflex for her now. She fakes an excited smile when Haseul introduces Jiwoo to her.

Kim Jiwoo. A professor on ethics who worked at the prestigious Yonsei University. Died when she accidentally drove into a pillar at the university's carpark. 

And still remains positive through it all.

"I don't think I did anything as memorable or as wonderful as you in my life. You're amazing! I guess the good thing about dying is that I found you!" Jiwoo had squealed, taking her hand in hers. Haseul took that as her cue to leave.

She feels a sense of dread, knowing she's going to ruin this perfect world for Jiwoo. Jiwoo's response to her might determine if she ends up in The Bad Place or not.

Sooyoung looks around the house they are supposed to live in. It does have a kitchen, but it doesn't even have rooms, just a bed and a TV, and a bathroom that has no doors. Everything just exists within the four walls of her cottage, and she's sure if she tried, she could walk across from one end to the other with eight steps.

("It's just like you wanted it," Haseul had said. "Simple, filled with your most treasured possessions, colourful, and free of doors. You always hated doors."

Sooyoung tries to put on a straight face when she hears that. "Yup, I love this set-up... Doors are the scum of our planet. Must be uh, eradicated."

Jiwoo had laughed. "If you like it, then I like it too.")

When Haseul is out of sight, Sooyoung finally peels her hand away from Jiwoo's grip. The girl looks slightly disappointed at the action, but Sooyoung speaks up before she can protest. She's been holding it in for too long.

"Look Jiwoo, you're really nice. But none of this is real for me."

"You just died, of course it's going to be confusing--" Jiwoo takes a step forward and tries to reach for her hand. Sooyoung steps back quickly.

"No, there's been a mistake. I wanted a castle on an island. This is not my dream house," she emphasises. She picks up the guitar resting against the wall. "These are not my 'most treasured possessions' or whatever. I don't have any memory of dying while trying to save some kid, and I definitely wasn't a social worker. I'm not supposed to be here."

She strums the guitar, and one of the strings break, as if to prove her point.

"That was _ my _ most treasured possession, actually," Jiwoo says softly, taking the guitar from her.

"Oh fork, I didn't mean to do that. I was trying to prove my point. Fork. What the fork? Why can't I say fork?"

_ I can say it in my head perfectly. Fuck! I just ruined any chance of her not telling on me! _

"Jiwoo? I don't know what to say."

The girl wipes away the tears streaming down her face. 

"Is your name even Sooyoung?" Jiwoo chokes out.

"Well, yeah. They got that part right, which is really weird." Jiwoo sniffles loudly in reply, and Sooyoung summons Yerim to hand her some tissues. 

"Alright buddy," Sooyoung says, rubbing Jiwoo's shoulders as she blows her nose into the tissues. "Get it all out of you. Must be hard knowing that your soulmate turned out to be an asshole bartender and not the woman of your dreams."

Jiwoo whines even louder.


	10. good for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lipseul where haseul is sad, jungeun is sad, and literally nothing goes right

“You should slow down,” Sooyoung tells her almost nonchalantly. It’s as if she already knew Haseul wasn’t going to heed her advice. Haseul _did_ walk in right after work, empty-stomached, asking for the bartender to “get her drunk”.

As if to prove her point, the lawyer holds her gaze while downing the shot.

“I’m feeling maybe… a mojito now,“ she croaks out, feeling the satisfying burn at the back of her throat. She groans in annoyance when Sooyoung hands her a cup of water.

“Complain—” Sooyoung starts, seeing as Haseul tilts the cup dangerously, watching a few droplets make their way onto the table-top. “—_Jesus_, Haseul. Or spill that, and there will be no more alcohol for you tonight.”

Needless to say, Haseul downs that cup as well. While Sooyoung prepares her mojito at an agonisingly slow pace (definitely intentionally), Haseul waits with her head in her hands, contemplating life in general.

There is much to think about; there’s a reason she’s at Sooyoung’s bar on a weekday. A Thursday night, to be specific. Still her brain doesn’t cooperate with her, being intoxicated and all, and her thoughts don’t form coherently, leaving her to space out every now and then. Unlike the typical day the buzz the alcohol is giving her isn’t pleasant at all.

But that may be due to external factors.

Nevermind that for now.

Haseul downs the mojito in a single chug. Sooyoung’s just glad she put only half a shot of rum in there instead of the usual two. From the time that Haseul had sauntered her bar demanding to get wasted to right now, approximately three hours have passed. The woman, in her full pantsuit glory, is already far too gone for her own good.

And it’s barely past nine.

On a _Thursday_ night.

Sooyoung absolutely knows what this is about. And it hurts just a little more to know _who_ this is about.

She prepares the gin and tonic for another customer, making a mental note to feed Haseul more water before she passes out dehydrated. The girl is practically drooling over her counter, vaguely swaying around to the beat of soft music playing in the background. It’s so off-rhythm that Sooyoung has to put a finger underneath her nose to make sure she’s still breathing, because the Haseul she knows never misses a beat. Not while dancing, and definitely not while singing.

Intoxicated and sad though? Perhaps it’s a different story. Sooyoung sighs in resignation, tilting Haseuls chin upwards and urging her to have more water.

* * *

Haseul doesn’t think her night can get any worse.

As if losing the custody of a mother’s child to a trashbag of a man wasn’t enough, Haseul receives news that her ex is already dating someone else, fresh off their break-up just a month ago. She’d almost thrown her phone upon receiving Jinsoul’s text, attached with a lovely photo of the new couple in town sharing a meal at the restaurant they used to frequent.

Jiwoo and Jungeun. She should have known. Those two were always too friendly to be purely platonic. _Fuck that._

How convenient of it to be a Thursday, though. Jungeun’s off day from the bar.

There wasn’t anything stopping her from getting drinks right after work at her best friend’s bar, especially when she knew the person she wanted to see the least wouldn’t be there.

* * *

“You know I’ll always be here for you. Just call me, Jungie, you know I don’t mind. Especially when you’re going through a hard time.”

Jiwoo’s voice brings comfort, more than anything else. She feels her heart warm slightly at the suggestion.

Not that she’ll take it to heart, though. Jungeun was never one to reach out first. Even this little dinner had to be pushed by Jiwoo for days before she relented.

“You know, even about Haseul…”

“Jiwoo,” Jungeun warns, hands gripping the steering wheel a little too tightly. “Don’t.”

“Fine. But we didn’t get to talk about her, and we have to. God knows she’s the number one thing bothering you right now. And don’t even try to lie to me, I can tell.”

Jungeun groans, “Maybe some other day.”

“You know that means never in Jungeun-speak,” Jiwoo says under her breath, exasperated.

It takes a few moments of silent contemplation, and a red light, before Jungeun voices what she’s thinking.

“I hurt her. What else can I do except stay out of her life?”

Jiwoo’s eyes soften ever so slightly, stealing a peek at her longtime friend. “You could always tell her the truth.”

Jiwoo doesn’t miss the way Jungeun’s jaw clenches. The light flashes green, and she continues the drive without another word.

The concrete jungle landscape is lacklustre company when compared to Jungeun, as Jiwoo realises. The suffocating silence gets to her, but she tries her best not to speak anyway, afraid to make Jungeun feel even more uncomfortable at the constant prodding. While she considers it a necessary evil to finally get Jungeun to move on from that part of her life (ie. Haseul), she’s also known her long enough to know when not to press the bartender’s buttons.

She alights at the doorstep to her apartment, leaving Jungeun with a final word of advice.

“I know I supported you before, but I’ve changed my mind. It’s not right, you know? I can’t live with myself knowing the both of you are suffering because of your warped idea about what’s good for her. About _who_ is good for her. She’s my friend too, so for fuck’s sake, tell her. Stop being selfish, and just tell her.”

* * *

Jungeun hates every facet of her current life.

This wouldn’t have been the case if you rewinded a few weeks back.

The job at the bar pays better than expected, and Sooyoung treats her more like a friend than an employee; double that up with the fact that she had Haseul, Sooyoung’s best friend, wrapped around her finger…

She was living _the_ life.

And then her boss tells her in a drunken rant that she’s been in love with her best friend for more than half her life.

Jungeun snorts, thinking about how much her perception of an ideal situation has changed in the last few months. Her mind drifts, as it typically does, to the one woman she always liked about her life.

_Fuck that_, she thinks, pulling into the parking lot she’s come to befriend the past three years. Her workplace isn’t somewhere she would frequent on her off-day, for obvious reasons, but she may or may not left her wallet there the day before, and she’s growing more anxious at the thought of it being unattended in the staff-only room; drunkards have little to no care for rules, after all.

The last thing she expects to see after walking through the unexpectedly empty bar and pushing open the door to the room is Haseul pinned against the wall, head tilted up in pleasure, body caged between the legs of her best friend.

(If this is what she wanted, then why does it hurt so fucking bad?)


	11. HaseulSmokes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lip + yves chance upon a cute youtuber who vapes
> 
> (please just watch [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaD01NBfg-A&t=127s) for context/a laugh)

It's four girls in a car; a blonde girl taking shotgun, a brunette on the driver's seat, and an unmistakeable couple in the back. Jungeun can't see them well except the fact that they both have bangs, and are basically sitting on top of each other. Her eyes linger a little longer on the brunette, and Jungeun decides that she's cute before she even starts speaking.

"What is up Youtube, it's your girl Haseul Fuckin' Smokes—"

Two seconds in, and Sooyoung has to pause the video because both her and Jungeun have already started laughing uncontrollably. When the wheezing stops, the giggling starts, because how unironically funny is that introduction? Jungeun covers her mouth with her hand, taking deep breaths and willing herself to stop. From the way Sooyoung also has to force herself to breathe properly again, she's not sure if they'll make it through the full video. It wouldn't be wise to keep pausing from time to time like that, they'll end up just taking all day.

She ultimately can't help it though, and her hand reaches for the left arrow on her keyboard to replay the opening.

"What is up Youtube, it's your girl Haseul Fuckin' Smokes. Today we're here with Jinsoul..."

The blonde girl raises her hand to the camera, giving a smile that raises her cheekbones. She's cute too; Jungeun has eyes.

"That's Jiwoo and Vivi at the back..."

The couple simultaneously go "hi!" before dissolving into soft giggles.

"And we're out here, in the middle of the day, in a car. It's fucking hot, but it's a vape hotbox video and we're all about authenticity here on HaseulSmokes."

Sooyoung hits pause before Jungeun can.

"Fuck, this shit is hilarious," Jungeun says through wheezes, "Do they know they don't literally have to feel hot in a hotbox video?"


	12. all that glitters is not gold (it’s you)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lipsoul where jungeun is pretty and jinsoul likes to stare 
> 
> MATURE CONTENT WARNING: semi-sexy times ahead

They were at what was possibly the worst party of the year. The only booze available was a vodka mix that tasted how Jinsoul presumes laboratory ethanol would, and beer. 

When Haseul hands her a bottle of beer, Jinsoul feels almost tempted to take it just so she could stay at the shitty party without being sober. Except, her date hates beer. She was not going to risk not being kissed because she had beer breath. Staying sober was a better option-- for Jinsoul, it was the only option. 

Said date asks if she wants to leave thirty minutes into the party, and she hurriedly says yes. They navigate their way out among sweaty bodies after bidding Haseul and Sooyoung goodbye, hands joined.

It's only on the car ride over to the nearest fast food restaurant that Jinsoul realises how breathtaking her date looks. 

Jungeun's hair is dyed silver, parted in the middle and tucked behind one of her ears. The piercings on her right ear twinkle under the passing streetlights, and Jinsoul reckons she made a good choice to let her drive. She would have lost the precious opportunity to openly ogle at her not-yet-girlfriend if she was driving instead. 

That being said, she moves to rest an elbow on the dashboard, putting her head on her chin, and just stares. Jungeun realises only after a while, and when she does, she narrows her eyes and snickers, as if to ask "what are you doing?". Jinsoul just gives her a cheesy smile in return. They're past the point of being coy; now it's all about publicly showing love and affection until one of them has the guts to put a label on whatever the hell they are.

It's not going to be Jinsoul, for sure.

(Little does she know, the other girl is thinking the same exact thing-- that it was never going to be Jungeun to pop The Question, certainly.)

The McDonald's looks empty enough, but Jungeun asks if they want to get takeaway and eat at her dormitory room instead so they could "let loose and go crazy". Jinsoul was not one to refuse such an offer. Besides, Jungeun's room was cosier and full of memories. It was where they first met. Where Jungeun rested her head on Jinsoul's shoulder for the first time, having fallen asleep watching a Harry Potter movie. The little bathroom there was where Jungeun emerged from with silver hair, having bleached it herself, completely stunning Jinsoul who could not form coherent or intepretable sentences after. Jungeun's bed was a victim to their numerous (countless) make-out sessions, stolen between nights where Jungeun's roommate Yeonjung would be out. 

Jinsoul's room was usually too messy for Jungeun to tolerate. Not that she's ever told that to Jinsoul's face. Not that Jinsoul ever needed to ask to know that already, anyway. Jungeun was too easy to read. Her little grimace when finding out Jinsoul had stuffed all her clean and unfolded laundry in her wardrobe in anticipation of Jungeun's arrival was almost too obvious, even though she was trying to be subtle. They weren't girlfriends, not yet anyway, but Jinsoul was trying, and she respected that. 

To give her credit, she made sure to actually fold her clothes the next time Jungeun went over. Eventually, it got too tiring to constantly clean up, and Jinsoul just asked to keep all their hang-outs in Jungeun's room after. Though it did hurt Jinsoul's pride to admit it, it was clear that Jungeun was too happy to oblige.

Anyways, speaking of which-- Jungeun's room always smelt like jasmine, for some reason. They were bringing their greasy supper in, and yet the room still reminded Jinsoul of an expensive hotel room. 

"I love your room," Jinsoul begins, "I know you hate mine, and I completely understand why. I'm just lucky Haseul is as much as a slob as I am." 

Jungeun laughs, but doesn't deny it. They're sitting cross-legged across each other on the floor, and Jinsoul can see every scrunch of her nose when the girl laughs, and every crinkle by her eyes when she smiles. They've been idly chatting for a while now, food forgotten about.

"You're staring at me again," Jungeun says, looking down to the unfinished fries between them. Jinsoul is kind of glad that they have at least finished their burgers; she wouldn't know what to do if her stomach (that has been rumbling all night) suddenly made noises and ruined the mood. 

"Because you're pretty," Jinsoul says in reply, pushing away thoughts about her groaning stomach and fixating them instead on the girl before her.

While the disco lights at the party and the dim streetlights along the road couldn't do Jungeun's look justice, the white light in her room could. She reaches over, giving in to her urges, to tuck Jungeun's hair behind her ear again. Jungeun lets her, holding her breath while Jinsoul looks at her like she's the most important thing in the world. Her hand lingers momentarily on the girl's neck, and all it takes is Jungeun sitting up slightly and leaning into the touch to give Jinsoul the permission she was silently asking for. 

Their lips join, and Jinsoul quickly closes the distance between them by crawling over the fries. Some grease gets on her knee from brushing against the paper bag, but sacrifices have to be made when you're kissing someone as spectacular as Kim Jungeun. 

Two arms finds their way around her waist, and she's pulled flushed against Jungeun's body. It's slightly awkward and uncomfortable, so she starts backing Jungeun down to the floor, lowering her with a hand on her back.

They only get halfway down before Jungeun suddenly pulls back, leaning on on elbow. "Bed," she whispers quickly, breaths heavy and skin pink. Jinsoul obliges without much hesitation, removing herself from on top of her and carrying her onto the bed before Jungeun could even protest.

"Is Yeonjung coming home tonight?"

Jungeun shakes her head, looking over to the door. "Lock it," she mutters urgently, looking like she wants nothing more but for Jinsoul to be back by her side as soon as possible.

When Jinsoul does come back, she tries her best not to pounce on Jungeun. She forces herself to slowly place both elbows by her head. Jungeun smiles when she finally gets close enough, placing a hand tenderly on her cheek before guiding Jinsoul's lips to where she wants it most.

This kiss felt different. 

It felt dangerous. 

When Jungeun's hands leave her face to roam under her shirt, she finally understands why. 

They add another memory to the list of things they've done together in Jungeun's room. A little something that starts with "making" and ends with "love".

A few days later, Sooyoung holds Jinsoul at butterknife-point to ask Jungeun if she wanted to be her girlfriend. Not the most romantic of scenarios, (especially when half the cafeteria had paused to look at what the commotion was about) but a necessary one. Sooyoung had found out from Jiwoo that Jungeun was just waiting for Jinsoul to ask, as Jinsoul had been, stupidly, for the past month or so. 

And if you were wondering, the cafeteria did erupt into cheers when Jungeun said "yes", while covering her face in embarrassment.


	13. warm bodies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> haseul + 2jin where they find a cure to the infection, somehow

"What do you mean you feel Hyunjin's pulse," Haseul asks, but even then it's not as much a question as it is a statement from a skeptic.

"Here," Heejin pulls Hyunjin from behind her back, presenting her wrist to the stern soldier. Hyunjin's never been one to look nervous - or show any emotion at all - and now with her wrist up, Haseul thinks she looks vulnerable. Afraid. Confused. All the things _humans_ (not the infected!) should feel when they're caught in a predicament like this.

This. As in an infected, sentient and compassionate and breathing (and now her heart is _ beating?), _all things the infected are not mean to be. 

"She has a pulse. Feel it." Haseul stares at her, then the wrist that is presented to her. Hyunjin's skin is far from a humanly pink, yet also, lightyears away from the ashy grey she was a month ago. "Please," Heejin pleas now, "before I lose my mind."

Haseul swallows, slinging the rifle onto her back. A tentative step, then another, and then she's curling her shaking forefingers around her wrist. She's a practiced medic, a veteran soldier, but even she has never seen anything like this.

The mildest of thumpings; like the pitter-patter of a child running across the room. Slow, unsteady, but there. So obviously there that's Haseul can only whip her head up and meet Heejin's eyes to ensure this isn't just one of their pranks. 

"Your heart is beating," Haseul whispers, incredulous. "Your... It's beating. _ Again." _

Hyunjin nods once. "Again," she drawls out.

"How long?"

Hyunjin mentally grapples for the words, stumbling out, "Two... days. On and... off."

"What happened? Do you... What..." Haseul withdraws her hand like she would from a hot iron once she processes her thoughts. Except Hyunjin's wrist isn't a hot iron; it's lukewarm, not the biting cold it once was, like the corpse she once was. "How?"

"My guess is that her being in close proximity with all of us has affected her physiology, in some way. Being in a functional society. The emotional connect--"

"Heejin," comes Hyunjin's timely answer, and by the way the rest of Heejin's sentence sputters into nothing, Haseul's willing to bet there's more truth to be unfolded from that.

"Heejin," Haseul repeats, and Hyunjin nods firmly once more. 

"Heartbeat," Hyunjin says slowly, suddenly blinking frantically, looking towards the floor. She probably would have the decency to be blushing if she could, Haseul reckons. "After we... uh... uh... uh... ki... kissed."

At least Hyunjin's getting a headstart to relearning what embarrassment feels like. Heejin tugs at her hand, burying her face into Hyunjin's shoulder from behind. Hyunjin smiles back, again, slowly, like she's recalibrating. Like she's warming up the muscles that haven't been used in forever. 

(As if it couldn't be more obvious that embarrassment isn't the only emotion she's been relearning these days.)

If these are the creatures the walled city is keeping out and fortifying itself against, maybe, Haseul thinks, that there's something else worth fighting for now. 

"Wow," Haseul breathes out. The smile - small, cheeky, puppy-like - fits Hyunjin. Right now her thoughts are all over the place. But she knows one thing. 

There's another smile she misses seeing. 

And now she just might.


	14. please, not in the scifi section!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lipves where jungeun reads, and sooyoung distracts (ft. very uninspiring and abrupt changes in pov, sorry)

"Hey babe..." She hears the voice and feels the arms around her waist before she sees the face of her girlfriend. Jungeun leans backward slightly, still examining the book in her hands. Sooyoung groans a little, hoping to catch her attention. 

"I'm so tired," is all she says, resting her chin on Jungeun's shoulder and looping her arms around her waist. Jungeun hums, holding her right hand in hers to ease her. She searches idly for the ring Sooyoung always wears around her thumb, and smiles when the girl intertwines their hands instead.

"Let me just finish this chapter," Jungeun whispers, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. They were in the library after all. "Then we'll go back to your room and sleep. Five minutes."

Sooyoung obliges, even though it's been a long day for her. 

"Is that book really more important than me?" Sooyoung asks sleepily against her shoulder, still hanging onto Jungeun like her life depended on it. It's that tone of voice that inexplicably sends a shiver down Jungeunl's spine, even though she's sure Sooyoung doesn't mean for that to happen. 

"I-I have a literature test on it tomorrow-"

"Literature can suck it, you're a music major. Put it down, baby..." Oh, so now she's whining? Great. "Juuuuungeeeeuuunn..."

She's had it. Jungeun puts down the book, turns her head around and cuts off her whining with a kiss. Sooyoung is backed up against a shelf of books-- science fiction, if you're wondering-- and mewling into the tender kiss. 

It’s kisses like these that convince Sooyoung that life, sometimes, is worth the pain of existence. Jungeun, small as she is - she’s standing on her _tippy-toes_ \- makes up for whatever she lacks in height in everything else. There’s that hand on her chin, tilting her head downwards for better access. There’s Jungeun’s other hand, intertwined in Sooyoung’s own, loosely hanging by their sides, hardly forgotten about, if the way Jungeun brushes her thumb over her knuckles is any indication. It’s soft, yet warm and inviting, and all she wants to do is stay there forever and let her heart beat out of her chest as Jungeun kisses the life into (not out of, yes, _into_) her.

Or not. Or maybe she wants to slip a hand under her shirt, see how far they can take it into making out territory before Jungeun surrenders and brings her home.

Jungeun pulls away first, taking the warmth of a living, breathing fireplace along with her. Sooyoung’s back to being hypersensitive of the Arctic that is the library, and she doesn’t like it very much.

"Alright, let me finish the chapter," Jungeun says while biting her lip, satisfied. Her eyes flit to Sooyoung’s lips one last time. 

A beat passes before she realises that Sooyoung’s eyes are trained on her, more intensely than they usually are. "Oh my god, fuck you, if you don't get me out of here right now, Kim Jungeun... I swear to god-"

"I'm kidding! Let's go."


	15. you make my whole week

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hyewonrim where hyejoo is indecisive, but chaewon and yerim are not

Son Hyejoo is a player. Not that she was trying to be one. But apparently, that’s what the other kids call her now._ “She had Yerim and Chaewon both wrapped around her finger, she knew what she was doing when she led them both on!” _

To be fair, she did. She did know what was going on. She wasn’t oblivious to the less-than-platonic hand-holding, the gifts, the breakfast dates and the flirtatious “see you later”s. But high school romance is nothing but corny, and Hyejoo would rather die before she becomes anything but corny. 

Also, it wasn’t like Hyejoo hated pretending she wasn’t aware to either girl’s advances. In fact she did kind of enjoy reeling them in, and then letting them stray a little further. It always got her more attention in the end, whether it be from her best friend or her soulmate, and that was amazing. 

But somewhere between the time they both started the unspoken competition over who could fawn over her more, and a week ago, they got distracted. By each other. And now Hyejoo is eating lunch, basically alone, sat opposite the two who can’t stop talking about… about what? She wasn’t listening. She was too busy feeling stupid for letting them both go. 

Come on, be frank, who could pick between the two? How could she ever choose one of them over the other? Especially when picking one meant the other got sad and heartbroken or whatever those negative emotions she was currently feeling are, because before she could pick, they’d already picked each other over her and-

“We have a proposal.” Chaewon is looking at her seriously, hand holding Yerim’s underneath the table. Don’t think Hyejoo didn’t notice.

“Huh?”

“I’ll spend the weekends with Chaewon, and then on weekdays we’ll split it. She gets you on Mondays and Wednesdays, and I’ll get you on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

“And on Fridays?”

“It’s a free for all. We each choose who we want to hang out with.”

They test it out for a week. On Friday, Hyejoo finds herself in the same position as she did the last week, sat opposite her best friend and her soulmate, thinking hard.

“I don’t like this proposal.” Hyejoo starts, finally catching their attention, “I wanted to go to the beach too, you know? And you guys get the weekends to do that. That’s not fair to me!”

“Aww look! She’s upset! That’s so cute,” Chaewon coos. Hyejoo frowns harder at how Yerim laughs along with her.

“Ever wonder about what wasn’t fair to us?”

“You split your attention up just fine between us both. And yet you still asked for more, without promising either of us anything. A little selfish, don’t you think?”

“I’d…” Hyejoo gulps. “I’d try harder, I promise. Just let me have the weekends too, please?”

“Oh,” Yerim whispers mysteriously, “we’ll do you one better.”

Chaewon smiles at her. “How does having us for the entire week sound?”


	16. the trials and tribulations of sooyoungie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> leader line where they shop in ikea, and sooyoung is put on the spot

“I like this bed frame better.”

“That doesn’t... “ Haseul doesn’t know how to put this across lightly. How not to offend Jungeun who, bless her heart, has invested an entire week’s worth of time into designing their new house. “Honey, I think this one over here with the wooden backboard suits better with the whole decor you’ve come up with. You know, rustic, brown, wooden… it’s very homely!”

Honestly, Haseul is absolutely abhorred by Jungeun’s taste in bedframe. She’d done a good job on the rest of the house, why does she have to falter now? 

Jungeun hesitates, eyes unable to peel themselves away from the sleek, black, metal bed frame right next to the superior choice - Haseul’s choice. From that look alone, Haseul can tell this isn’t going to go well unless she lets Jungeun have her way, which, with how Jungeun’s bedframe of choice looks like it belongs in an 19th century asylum, which valid, if they were lesbians living in the 19th century. Except they’re not. They’re two adults with impeccable taste. 

“So,” Jungeun starts. “We need Sooyoung to tiebreak.”

“Oh come on, she’s never going to decide if she knew we’ll each be on one side.”

Jungeun raises her eyebrows in a challenge. This is never good. “Sooyoungie!” She calls behind her.   
  


_ Sooyoungie _ . Haseul rolls her eyes. Typical. It’s always Sooyoungie this, Haseulie that, and then the youngest girl gets whatever the hell she wants without having to bat an extra eye for it.

“Yes?” Sooyoung, now risen from the sofa she was so comfortably rested against, replies, “what’s wrong? Or are we done?” SHe pockets the phone she was so boredly scrolling through, free hands moving to loop around each of her girlfriends’ waists. Haseul inadvertently crosses her arms when Jungeun stares her down. 

“I want this bedframe.”

Sooyoung smiles fondly at Jungeun. “Okay, let’s get this one, then-”

“But I want this one right here, with the beautiful wooden backboard. Don’t you want to just press us both up against that? Mmmm-”

Now that she has somewhat caught on, Sooyoung looks between them two nervously. Gulping, she smiles before letting out a very diplomatic, “I...uh… sure, that one then.”

“Sooyoungie…” Jungeun pouts now, leaning into the taller woman’s body. “This one.”

“Baby,” Haseul coos just the same, glancing away from Jungeun’s wary eyes, “I really think this goes best with our decor.”

“Haha, okay I know what you guys are doing…” Sooyoung loosens her grip from both women, back away slightly. It doesn’t work, and Jungeun latches back onto her side. Seeing her do that, Haseul does the same. And now, great, she’s sandwiched, and being backed into the couch by the two very beautiful women. Haseul kisses her by the left jaw, Jungeun by her right ear, and no, she can’t do this. “No, no, not this again. I’ll pick a side, I swear, please oh god, please stop…”

They do listen, thank god for that. They look at her with expectant eyes and sweet smiles. She calculates her odds. If she makes Jungeun mad, it’s probably a week’s worth of chores. If she makes Haseul mad, it’s probably a week of sarcastic, passive-aggressive remarks being thrown at her. Neither of those are good.

Between them, Sooyoung sees an opening. She takes it, and bolts.

“Hey! Come back here!”

“We’re not finished with you!”


	17. croissants, critters and cutting classes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> viseul part 2 where vivi stops ditching, and haseul still pines

oh god. that little critter in her head that goes by the name of park chaewon and just wouldn’t shut up is at it again. 

(“think about it like it's inception, the movie? you plant an idea in her head, and she won't be able to get it out. tell her you miss her, and you barely get to spend time with, whine a little, use that smile of yours, and then she's going to be all like 'aw man i need to spend more time with haseul!' and boom," chaewon deadpanned. "you got what you wanted all along without directly asking for it.")

god, why does that wretched girl always have to be right?

haseul’s hand suspends mid-air, mid-knock, so ready to throw down her fist and scream, “look at me for once! i like you! stop dancing for a day, please!” of course, as with the ever impeccable luck that follows her, vivi’s door swings inwards, revealing vivi herself, as surprised as haseul is with her presence.

haseul’s mouth falls open. vivi’s eyes narrow into pretty crescent moons, and the “hi haseul,” she lets out isn’t just familiar, it’s awe-inducing. haseul hates that she would crumble at the tiniest of smiles vivi would shoot at her from time to time. right now vivi is full-out grinning, so, forgive her for malfunctioning, really.

“i… brought you breakfast, before you have to you know… go dance again.”

“that’s really sweet of you,” vivi beams, “although… um…”

“yeah? do you have to rush off again? it’s alright, i’ll just give it to hyunjin then. she can down a few of these at once.”

“croissants? oh yeah she could! but don’t give those to her just yet.” vivi leans forward, whispering like she’s telling a secret, “i called in sick today, so yves cancelled the class.”

“oh,” haseul repeats, “oh. so you’re free. like. the whole-”

“the whole day, yes.”

haseul gulps. this is it. the moment she’s been waiting for. served to her on a silver platter. and she has no idea what to do with it. 

thankfully, vivi does. “do you want to go somewhere? as long as i don’t run into yves i think i’ll be fine.”

“you’re not really sick.”

“depends on who’s asking. you? no, i’m not sick. perfectly healthy, and just a little tired from my hectic schedule.”

“oh. oh my god.” haseul curses the little critter that’s been haunting her all this time. turns out she didn’t really need her anyway. “let’s go out. please.”

“five minutes. do you want to wait outside or inside?”

“um, uh…”

“haseul,” vivi laughs, “come inside.”

“okay, okay.”


	18. i'm so sick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lipves where lip falls sick, and sooyoung also, falls

If there’s one thing Sooyoung hates about Jungeun, it’s that she’s always, somehow, sick.

“I take care of myself! My body just doesn’t want to listen to me.”

Lies. Sooyoung knows her roommate is out working her ass off after school trying her hardest to make a dent in her impending student debt. When Jungeun doesn’t come home smelling like the coffee she makes for once, she’ll believe that she’s taking care of herself.

And if there’s another thing Sooyoung hates about her, it’s that she never, ever wants to rest when she is indeed sick.

Like right now. Jungeun’s eyebrows are furrowed in pain, discomfort, sickness, etc; Sooyoung doesn’t know what exactly it is since Jungeun refuses to voice out any of her struggles, but she’s guessing it’s a fever. Her forehead burns underneath Sooyoung’s probing hand, and her body is shivering under the thick blanket she shockingly managed to pull over herself. She’s not even strong enough to push away Sooyoung’s returning hand, now with a wet towel in it. 

“I can go to work, I promise,” Jungeun might as well have croaked that out.

One final thing Sooyoung hates about her roommate, is that she has to, just has to, take care of her when she falls ill and refuses to rest.

She has to chide her, nag at her till she takes her medicine and calls in sick at work, cook for her, feed her… The list goes on. She knows she shouldn’t be complaining since it isn’t like Jungeun’s forcing her to do any of these but, come on, the girl’s basically begging to be taken care of. Jungeun, drowsy, drugged up and vulnerable, snuggles closer into the hand that Sooyoung has in her hair, massaging her burning scalp - when did that get there?

“Thank you,” Jungeun says, eyes closed, but eyebrows no longer furrowed in discomfort. Sooyoung takes a moment to examine her features, wiping off all the sweat she can find with a fresh handkerchief. As pretty as Jungeun still is when she’s sweating out a fever and deliriously cuddling up her hand, Sooyoung hates seeing her like this. 

“I wish you’d stop working so much. The cafe won’t burn if you don’t turn up for a day,” Sooyoung pauses, voice turning soft, “but you will. Look at you.”

Jungeun smiles, registering the words clearly even while fighting sleep. She opens her eyes, articulating as best as she can, “You’re like… my mum.”

Sooyoung’s automatic response is to scrunch her nose in disgust. The girl below her giggles faintly, her voice so hoarse that it drowns out the usual bright chime of her laughter. “I don’t want to be your mum,” Sooyoung says simply. 

“A girlfriend, then.” Jungeun closes her eyes right after saying that. Sooyoung’s still thinking about the implication of her words when Jungeun takes the hand in her hair, and lays her cheek on it. She hums in satisfaction, before - Sooyoung reckons - drifting off into sleep for good.

Her heart beats a little faster than she likes it to be. Maybe she’s falling a little sick as well. 


	19. don't drink and drive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lipsoul where jungeun's old habits die hard
> 
> (and seriously, don't.)
> 
> tw: mentions of drunk driving

Jungeun doesn't remember much about the crash.

Something about post-traumatic stress disorder, something about the alcohol that was in her system. Much of it cuts to black after the flashing headlights, and she's glad it does. 

Fractured femurs. Perfectly cracked in all the right places to bring her the most pain. An act of divine retribution, if she does say so herself. 

The doctors tell her she has to go through an intense rehabilitation programme for her legs to ever heal properly-- for her to walk again-- yet all she's itching to do is grab a drink. 

Not that she can do that herself now. Her legs are bundled up in casts. Movement is restricted to an outstretched hand reaching for water by her bedside table, and the other pressing a button to prop her bed up so she can properly eat. Perhaps even a snide remark or two at Jinsoul, who really just wants the best for her. 

"If you're not quitting after this, I'm not sure anyone in the world can help you, Jungeun. You have a problem."

"We've been over this."

"No, we haven't. Not like this. Not when you literally threw yourself off a damn highway! Drunk driving? Seriously--"

"You can leave, you know. You're not obliged to stay here. I can tell you're tired of me. It's fine, I understand."

"You're fucked up," Jinsoul replies, and then softly, "Of course I'm tired of you. But only because I care. I don't want to eventually have to collect a dead body from the hospital, you know?"

"I know," Jungeun replies in an act of indifference. Jinsoul's earnest gaze gets her squirming a little. "Thank you. For caring."

"You're welcome. Though I admit, this is really a thankless job."

"If it's that much of a hassle you can go now, you know that, right."

Jinsoul squints at her. "Did you really think that after a whole decade of dealing with your shit that I would just leave you here in a nice hospital bed with pretty nurses to wait on you? No. You're going to suffer for what all the dates you've made me sacrifice because you couldn't be bothered to take care of yourself." And with that, she makes herself comfortable on the armchair by Jungeun's side.

"It was one time!" groans Jungeun. "And Sooyoung called you back."

Jinsoul raises her eyebrows, and a fist. A finger goes up every time she mentions a name. "Jo Haseul. Vivi Wong. Lee Jueun. Baek Yebin. Myoui-"

"Point taken. And you're going to torture me by staying here all day?"

"All day, baby. All day."


	20. operation homecoming: detective park's joyless job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hyewon where chaewon brings a perp in for questioning
> 
> (one of the scenes from the lost operation homecoming chapters)

The results from the forensics team came back faster than expected. 

Within a day, she had gotten a name, a face and a location from just a teeny piece of blonde hair stuck in the Balenciaga cap. 

Fashion gods? Gods in general? Thank you.

"Now, now, Jung Jinsoul... You better be in your dorm room when I get there," Chaewon says to no one in particular. Yerim was busy, as were Heejin and Hyunjin investigating a cold case, and the only available detective was Haseul, who sure as hell had better things to do than check out the Balenciaga Burglar with her.

So here she is, on her way to Hansung University, alone. She could have easily called in Jung Jinsoul to come in for questioning, but the girl didn't have a registered phone number. Not even a registered home address, just a sad little dormitory room in Hansung.

It takes a while to find the room, and Chaewon is surprised to realise that it was slightly... off. 

Was that a good way to put it? 

The room was almost designed to be hidden, or seen only by the most careful observers. It was tucked in a corner at the end of the hallway, its door hidden by a wall seemingly erected just to place it out of view. Chaewon only found it after scouring the entire level.

It was still a registered unit, which was weird to say the least. 

Three knocks, no answer.

She hears some shuffling. There was definitely someone inside.

Five knocks, more shuffling. 

Chaewon tries again for the last time. Three knocks, a "Miss Jung Jinsoul?" and... click.

A raven-haired girl opens the door. She timidly meets Chaewon's eyes.

"Jinsoul's not here," she says simply, moving to close the door.

"Wait!"

Or slam the door, really, as Chaewon realises after reacting in an instant, stopping the closing door with her hand. It slams right into her knuckles, sending jolts of pain up her arm. 

"Ow!"

"Shit, sorry! Why did you- I told you Jinsoul isn't here!"

Chaewon hisses through pain, "I'm from the police department!" She shakes her right hand, huffing a little.

"You're a cop?"

"Yes kid, I am. Detective Park Chaewon, Seoul PD. Now tell me, why are you in Jinsoul's room and where the hell is she?" She pulls out a notepad and a pen, already forgetting about the pain in her knuckles.

The girls sighs tiredly. “She's out of town for a while. I'm here to help her clean up."

The dusty interior is obvious even from outside the room. Chaewon frowns. "How long has she been out of town?"

"A few weeks," the girl says as her gaze moves to her feet. Chaewon takes her notes dutifully whole casually noting the awkwardness exuding from her.

"You're her friend?" Chaewon asks lightly. 

"Yes."

Damn. A dead end. Jung Jinsoul has an alibi. "Alright, I think that should do. Can I get your..."

Her voice trails off a little as she gets distracted by something in the room. 

A mask. Plastic. With a little snout and a grey base. It's sitting on the bed, looking extremely familiar. Too familiar. Something Jungeun had showed them a picture of a few days back. 

The Wolf. Hansung drug syndicate. Supposedly unrelated case. What?

The girl seems to have caught Chaewon's line of sight. She frowns a little.

The detective doesn’t notice the quivering legs and balled-up fists.

"That wolf mask... Mind if I take a look at that?"

Tense, the girl replies, "It's just a random mask."

"It might be related to another case-"

Chaewon barely gets through her sentence because she's shoved into the wall. It takes a moment for her to register that she's now supposed to be hot on the heels of the girl that just ran away from her at the mere mention of the mask. 

"Hey!"

She shoves the notepad clumsily back into her pocket, turning and sprinting down the hallway. 

Damn it, I'm not paid enough for this!

She chases her through the dormitory, dodging unsuspecting students along the way. 

“Seoul PD! Get out of my way!” 

The girl opens the door to the emergency stairwell, and Chaewon groans at the prospect of taking the stairs. The last time she had to do this, she went home with a sprained ankle. 

Luckily for her, the girls chooses to go up and not down, sparing her ankles while making her quads suffer.  Shit . She wouldn’t be able to hold up this unforgiving pace much longer if the burning in her thighs won’t go away.

She hears the click of a door opening after a few flights of stairs, and nearly slams herself into the flapping door when she finally reaches it. She clumsily flings herself into the new environment, and thanks her lucky stars when she sees that the girl is still within range.

Around 10 metres away, Chaewon catches sight of the dark-haired girl just before she disappears into a corridor. She turns the corner, expecting a long chase ahead and...

Dead end. 

Well isn't it Chaewon's lucky day! The girl turns, helplessness in her eyes.

"Wrong corridor," they both say at the same time. 

Chaewon breathes heavily, willing herself to keep standing straight. ”Don't try to run past me. I can definitely take you down if you try." 

The girl just hangs her head, cursing under her breath.

Chaewon smirks a little, brandishing the handcuffs from her belt. "You, my friend, are coming down to the station for a little chat."

The girl groans through ragged breaths, but begrudgingly complies.

The ride to the station is silent, but mostly because Chaewon had read the girl her standard Miranda warning. 

Nobody bats an eye when Chaewon brings her in for questioning in the interrogation room. Which is great, really, because Chaewon really isn't in the mood to be telling the whole story from the top. She can handle this herself first, and maybe if Jungeun gets her text in time, she can be here for it too. 

Speaking of Jungeun... Where is the senior detective? 

Nevermind that. She has a potential accomplice in her hands. This is the most exciting thing to happen in her life since Heejin first devulged to her that she might have a "friend-crush" on Hyunjin. First off, Heejin is dumb and oblivious, and secondly, case-in-point, Chaewon's life is boring. 

"Full name?"

"Son Hyejoo."

"Spell it for me in English please."

"S-o-n..." 

Chaewon hums for her to continue.

"Olivia."

Chaewon looks up from where she's writing on her notepad. Her eyes narrow. 

"Did you just say Olivia?"

"The Olivia is silent," Hyejoo deadpans. The detective glares back.

"Right,” Chaewon ignores the unexpected display of sass and continues, “And?"

"H-y-e-j-o-o. Son Hyejoo. It isn't that hard, detective."

"Just making sure. Don't want the report that I definitely have to write because you ran away from me at the mere mention of a mask to be sloppy. By the way, what's that about?"

"It's just a mask, Detective."

"Then why'd you run?"


	21. the champion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chuulip where jungeun is the hogwarts champion for the triwizard tournament

night falls, and having already spent an evening moping around, jiwoo is still trying to finish up her herbology homework. she's scratching her quill on her parchment so furiously that she reckons if tables could talk like paintings, hers would be protesting in agony. if only she was good at herbology.

like jungeun. has she ever mentioned that jungeun is great at herbology? well, she's brilliant at it. they always partner up, and jungeun always amazes her with how quick she manages the tasks. but jungeun's also a big idiot that she's angry with right now, so... 

her roommate stirs in her sleep from behind her, going unnoticed by jiwoo. she pays no attention to the mumbling and whispering going on behind her, more focused on trying to complete professor hirai's worst assignment yet. who the hell knows what's the difference between adult and baby devil's snare anyways?

"baby snares are more resistant to fire," a voice pipes up from behind her. she resists a flinch, knowing who it was in her room. "that's why they're more dangerous. when people encounter baby snares they have to cut them by the roots instead. if they struggle, or use fire, the snare will just hold onto them even tighter."

the voice is also soft, perhaps even apologetic. jiwoo would know, she's heard it for nearly half her life. she scribbles down the answer with a little huff, before setting the quill down for good. the rest of it can wait till the next morning.

"i'm angry with you. i'm never angry." she hopes jungeun doesn't catch the slight crack in her voice from crying too much. 

"i know, that's why i'm here," jungeun says, kneeling down in front her her and taking her hands. "i'm sorry. just- just yell at me."

"i'm not going to yell at you, idiot," jiwoo replies, tilting her head back to stop the emerging tears from falling. "god, get up. after looking at you i don't even know if i'm more angry or worried-"

jungeun stands up dutifully, pulling jiwoo into a tight hug. she assures that she'll be fine, but who's to know what will happen? anything could be a challenge: dragons, labyrinths, the other champions. jungeun may be the oldest, and presumably the wisest among the three, but she's not the richest (able to afford the best possible gear) or the strongest (lucas could probably bench twice her weight).

"i'll stay safe, i promise you."

jiwoo just nods into her shoulder, willing herself not to cry.


	22. roots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lipves where lip and yves meet for the first time post-disbandment

the thing about doing radio programs as an idol is this: you get a script to follow, some games to play for you to showcase your personality, and some personal questions that aren’t that personal in the first place because the staff makes sure to get the questions vetted by the company beforehand.

_ the candid _ isn’t a typical radio programs. it’s not aired during the most coveted time slot, but isn’t all that obscure either. it’s a fledgling of a project, compared to the likes of the long-running household name that is _ playlist _ . _ the candid _ markets itself as a raw and genuine presentation of artists - a show that is unscripted and full of surprises, the questions asked only shown to the artists a commercial break before they go on air. to indie artists especially, it’s a career starting point, a place where they can abashedly be themselves, and a show where the music and the person behind it become one. for older artists who have taken a step back from the spotlight, it’s a fresh start; a place to clear up old misunderstandings, to rant about their deeply-seated grievances, and to warn the young and ambitious in their audience to never take up a career in entertainment. 

it goes without saying that the usual entertainment company considers _ the candid _ a pr nightmare. 

sooyoung scans the questions she’s been given, her fingers staining the pages with her perspiration. they jump off the page, sneering at her, mocking her, mixing and mingling with the ones she came up with in her head. 

_why did you choose to go by 'ha sooyoung' instead of 'yves'? what have you been doing the past year? how’s the new album going?_ _shall we talk about your very public fallout with your old band? are you dating anyone?_

_ are you in love? _

_ have you ever been in love? _

_ are you in love with anyone? _

“don’t be nervous,” the host tells them. his calm voice could have probably coaxed some nerves out of sooyoung if she was listening. he’s an ex-idol turned mediocre comedian turned mediocre actor turned host of a mediocre show at 10 in the morning. sooyoung’s thoughts momentarily flit to how her career could have easily ended up like his. “my guests are usually trot singers or young kids whose music i don’t understand, so this is new to me too. we’ll figure it out together!” 

he’s nice for a man who used to have teenage girls running after him in the streets. that’s not very common. jungeun laughs along with him. sooyoung doesn’t.

it’s a weird feeling, being next to her again on a radio program. it takes sooyoung back to a time she wants desperately to forget. a happier time, perhaps. a time where she was still yves and jungeun was still kim lip. it's funny, she remarks, how she’s back where it all began six years later: in a chair next to kim jungeun on a schedule they share.

divine retribution, while poetic, is often cruel. and this is what she deserves after falling in love with the wrong person.

and _ that’s _ exactly the kind of thing she’s not supposed to reveal on air.

a strong gust of wind howls from the outside, bending the trees and sending leaves flying. a chill travels up her body. the screen on the wall tells her that the room is warm. the last of the welcome jingle plays. the “on air” sign flashes red. 

the host takes a deep breath. 

_ are you still in love with her? _

sooyoung holds hers.


	23. the good, the bad, and the messy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chuuves/chuulip where jiwoo is a messy, messy person

Jiwoo has always been a messy person. 

She leaves traces around her house. Sooyoung often comes home to see manuscripts she definitely should not have access to strewn across her coffee table. On other days, it's a pair of pink running shoes, muddy, leaving tracks where they sit. 

Today, Jiwoo greets Sooyoung at the door in just a towel, her hair dripping water onto the polished wooden floor. The bags under her eyes give away her lack of sleep, as does her sharpened jaw with her clear lack of appetite. 

“Hey. You’re here,” she states plainly. The ‘again’ goes unsaid. Jiwoo is sharp enough to pick up on the subtleties with which Sooyoung expresses her grievances, and Sooyoung’s not one to show any hostility. Not towards her, anyway. “You look…” Messy. 

“Ugh, bad, I know. And I’m sorry for popping by again, it’s just, it’s been a tough week,” Jiwoo explains lowly. She disappears shortly to put on some clothes, and Sooyoung can’t help the way her eyes chase after the water trail Jiwoo leaves on her otherwise pristine floor. 

“Any news?” she calls after her, now staring at her dining table. It was never meant for more than one person to comfortably have a meal at. And it seems clear that Jiwoo has already staked her claim over it.

“No,” comes the reply. Jiwoo steps out of her bathroom roughly ruffling a towel through her hair. “They’re making contact with the surface tomorrow, though. Maybe I’ll get word then if she’s still alive.”

She laughs, but Sooyoung knows she’s not all there. Jiwoo’s glasses are still dotted with water droplets, and her wet hair falls limply over her face. She frowns deeply just as Sooyoung turns away. 

Jiwoo’s half-eaten sandwich sneers at her, inches away from the salad she’s just placed on the table top. There’s crumbs everywhere. 

Messy, Sooyoung thinks.

“Jungeun will be fine,” she finds herself saying. She flashes a smile, the reassuring one, the one Jiwoo comes to her for. “She always is. Besides, you would have known long ago if something had gone wrong.”

“You always know what to say,” says Jiwoo, voice cracking. Her eyebrows betray the smile she wears on her face. Sooyoung knows what this expression means, knows what she has to do is open her arms and provide a shoulder for Jiwoo to dry her tears on. “Jungeun never does. you know what she told me before leaving?  _ ‘I’ll try not to die.’ _ Who the hell says that before going on a- a life-threatening mission to fucking- fucking Mars, Sooyoung? Mars!”

Sooyoung is acutely aware of how her friend has never really been good at words. She’s an engineer, Jungeun would say in defense every time they poked fun at her poor vocabulary, all she needs to be good at are numbers and cold hard science. Sooyoung would laugh at her, make it clear to Jungeun that expectations are meant to be subverted, and that she was a chef with a math degree, and Jiwoo was an accountant...

“Oh Sooyoung, it must be so much easier to be in love with you.”

... and a messy one, at that.


	24. before i go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jungeun gets ready for reaping day (hunger games au)

“Big day tomorrow, huh?”

Jungeun raises her head from the half-completed puzzle laid out on the floor to greet the figure at her door. Her twin sister uses the towel hung around her neck to dry off her hair, skin glistening like Jungeun’s does after she does her rounds in the pool. Or when she’s alone at the lake with nothing to bother her except her thoughts. 

She nods. “Big day. Can’t wait.”

That’s true. She can’t wait for the reaping to be over. 

“I believe in you, you know? I mean, I have to. I want my little sister back in one piece.” 

“I haven’t been training my whole life to get slaughtered there,” Jungeun replies with a laugh. “I’ll be fine. But it’s not like anyone else cares if I die. They just want me to win.”

“We all care about you, Jungeun.” To her credit, Jungahn is trying her hardest to sound convincing. “Even mum and dad.”

Jungahn says that acutely aware of how if Jungeun wins, her parents will take credit for grooming her into becoming a victor. And if she doesn’t, she dies an embarrassment, a disappointment. That part goes unspoken, because they both know it. Jungahn was with her through it all up until she got her achilles torn two weeks ago. 

Jungeun laughs, even though what was just said wasn’t even funny. To her, you see, all of this is just a giant, cruel joke. She never once enjoyed being a career, never once wanted to be a tribute.

She sighs, remembering how fast the capitol doctors fixed the ACL she tore on purpose, and how murderous her parents looked when they found out she’d intentionally been putting more weight on one leg for months. It’s a childish wish, really, to dream of a reality where they could swap places. It’s not like they ever experienced that as fraternal twins, but the thought hasn’t left her mind since Jungahn cried knowing the capitol doctors couldn’t fix her achilles in time for the games.

Knowing they aren’t genetically identical helps her find solace in the fact that Jungahn and her aren’t that similar, even if they were born on the same day, minutes apart, and raised by the same parents.

“You should know never to make such bold statements when they aren’t true, Daisy.” 

She sees her sister’s body stiffen at the childhood nickname, but pays her no mind. Jungeun goes back to fixing that puzzle of hers. She didn’t mean to come off as snarky, but what’s the point of fixing relationships if they aren’t going to exist in a week?

Jungahn clenches her jaw, strolling to Jungeun’s bedside, fiddling with the switches by her bed.

“Go to sleep early. Big day you’ve got tomorrow, Ashley.”

It doesn’t go unnoticed, the way Jungahn called her by the name she has detested her whole life, or how she had set the blanket to be a tad warmer than how Jungeun usually likes it.

“Goodnight, Daisy.” Jungahn always liked that name.

She doesn’t get a reply. The door to the adjacent room slams shut.

She fixes the last piece of the puzzle, relishing in the feeling of accomplishment and relief. The puzzle she’s just fixed-- the one she bargained for at the underground market-- is a picture of a beach. Maybe someday, she’ll get to visit one where the vast, open sea awaits her. If she wins, she won’t be coming back to District 4. 

And that, she knows for sure.


	25. shut up and marry me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lipves where lip needs a job, and yves needs a wife

As a boss, Vivi Wong is strict and unwavering. Sooyoung respects her for that. And as a friend…

Well, Sooyoung doesn’t know what Vivi is like as a friend. They’re not friends.

Jo Haseul, however, is a different story. Her parents are board members, and she’s Yeojin’s half-sister. While she’s proven her worth, Sooyoung can’t help but doubt her abilities to compartmentalise, especially since Yeojin’s been wreaking havoc for months now.

They’re not friends either.

And about that… Sooyoung never even gets to mention Yeojin.

“So, you’re getting deported.”

Vivi. She always just has to go straight to the point, doesn’t she?

“I-- what?”

“We got a call from your lawyer. Remember when you weren’t supposed to go to New York because your visa application was being processed and you went anyway? Well, now they’re denying your application,” Haseul supplies while leaning sideways against Vivi's desk, ever the helpful one.

“I wasn’t going to let Yeojin, or anyone else really, report about New York Fashion Week,” Sooyoung replies, squinting at Haseul who’s all decked out in a grey pantsuit and flats. She wonders if perhaps she’s putting too much effort into her appearance.

(No, scratch that. She’s the editor-in-chief for the largest fashion magazine in Korea. The least she could do was show up to work in Louboutins and a dress.)

“Well, I can work from the US, right? I haven’t been there since I was birthed but I’m sure they have good internet.”

Vivi removes the glasses from her face, looking resigned. She rests both arms on the table as Sooyoung continues to ramble about how fast the internet is, or should be, in the United States. “We’re making Yeojin editor-in-chief, while you have to stay at least a year in the US--“

Sooyoung pauses her train of thought. “Yeojin. Could it  _ possibly _ be the same Yeojin as the one I just fired?”

“Sooyoung, what the-- You fired my sister?!” Haseul exclaims, pinching her nose bridge, “oh my god.” The woman has to steady herself with a hand on the desk, as she keels over slightly.

Vivi holds up her hand as if to calm Haseul down. It doesn’t work, and she lets out an even bigger sigh than before when she hears Haseul mumble something about her parents being incredibly displeased about this.

“Look, if there was any way we could make you stay, we would be doing it right now. We’re as desperate as you,” Vivi states monotonously. It’s as if she didn’t just announce that the company would basically be set on fire and left to die for the next twelve months while Yeojin would be in charge. It’s subtle, but Vivi’s right eye twitches a little, giving away how terrified she really is.

Someone chooses that very fragile moment to barge into the office. “Uh, sorry to bother but Miss Ha? Kim Hyunjin is on the line. She says she won’t do the interview if she doesn’t get to speak to you directly.”

“Jungeun, what-- That can wait,” Sooyoung shoos her away impatiently.

“She’s been engaged for the last ten minutes and I can’t get her to calm down. She’s threatening to boycott us forever…”

Engaged.

“Miss Ha? I need you to get on the phone with her.”

_ Engaged. _ That’s it.

All of a sudden, Sooyoung is smiling sweetly at Jungeun. “There… is something actually,” she says, her statement more directed at her two bosses then her assistant. Her assistant narrows her eyes suspiciously.

"Uh... Boss?"

She gestures for Jungeun to come in, beckoning her with a small sneer. “Come here,” she mouths. She does it one more time, a little more threateningly when her assistant doesn’t move.

Her elbow makes contact with Jungeun’s ribs when she finally reaches her side. That nudge was definitely intentional.

“Well, Jungeun and I are getting married!” Sooyoung exclaims to the two bosses, who are now staring at them with unconvinced, narrowed eyes. An arm loops around Jungeun’s, and the assistant looks to the woman beside her.

_ Haha. What the fuck? _

Frantic eyes meet Sooyoung’s. The editor is smiling, but it’s the fakest smile Jungeun’s seen since she started working for her. And trust Jungeun when she says she knows how fake Sooyoung’s smiles can get; her boss is an impeccable actress, and a Grade A bitch.

_ Play along _ , Sooyoung's trying to say.

“Neither of us expected it to happen. We weren’t supposed to fall… in love,” The editor says while patting Jungeun on the stomach, still smiling.

“No, we weren't…” Jungeun says dumbly.

_ What the fuck? What is this bitch doing?! _

“So you two are engaged,” one of them says. Jungeun’s not sure which one of the bosses that came from. She’s too busy trying to process whatever has just been unloaded on her.

“Yes,” Sooyoung firmly replies, just as Jungeun whispers a “no”.

"Well, I can't say I saw that coming," Haseul adds with furrowed eyebrows, "Like, at all."

"We tried to keep it under wraps but, surprise! Um, the secret is out, I guess," Sooyoung says, a few octaves higher than usual. Jungeun turns her head weakly to look at her, slightly dazed.

Her brain is going into overdrive. It's about to implode.

_ What the fuck? Is this bitch trying to sound happy? Does she know she's failing miserably at it? Again, WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?! _

"I'm both scared and impressed that you managed to keep it all a secret," Vivi comments.

Three jaws drop when Sooyoung tells them with both finality  _ and _ a shrug that "we've been dating for the last six months."

_ Kaboom!  _ There goes Jungeun's brain. It was nice knowing her.  _ Here lies Kim Jungeun, beloved daughter, unfulfilled editor, and loving wife. _

_ Wife. _

_ WIFE?????? _

Vivi finally closes her mouth after gaping at them for a whole minute. "Uh, congrats," she tries with a smile. It looks more like the excruciating wince on Jungeun's face.

“Well, then I guess you’re staying. Just make it legal, please,” she hears Haseul say, just as Sooyoung gives an annoyingly fake-happy celebratory ‘hurray!’ and ushers them out of the office, without so much of a goodbye.

_ What is happening. _

She tags along behind Sooyoung, as she always does, who keeps her pace and poise as she strides through the office.

_ What. Is. Happening? _

Her co-workers are looking at her funny. Why are they giving her strange looks? Yerim (God bless her soul for being the only tolerable person in the office) throws her a thumbs-up and a wink. Someone wolf-whistles. Another snickers as if to say  _ her? C’mon dude… _ Word travels fast, apparently.

_ What --and I cannot stress this enough-- the FUCK is happening? _

Sooyoung sits down at her desk, and Jungeun enters the room shortly, closing the door behind her. The editor takes out the drafts delivered to her just this morning by Jungeun herself, looking ready to get in some work. As if nothing just happened. As if she didn’t just tell their bosses that she and Jungeun were getting  _ married _ .

That they were tying the knot.

Making it official.

Putting a ring on it.

Signing a lifetime contract.

Being united in the bonds of holy matrimony.

Getting married.

_ GETTING MARRIED?!???!??!!!?!!!?!?! _

“What the fuck?” She lets it out before she can control it. “I mean, I don’t understand what’s-- What the fuck? What the fuck, Sooyoung!”

(Let the record show that Jungeun is not on a first-name basis with her boss.)

“Calm down, I did this for us,” Sooyoung nonchalantly replies, without even looking up. Jungeun squeezes her eyes shut, almost exploding from frustration as she hears the sounds of pages flipping.

She opens her eyes and catches Sooyoung taking just a second to glance at her. Then she goes back to flipping through the magazine drafts like Jungeun isn’t there. She clenches her jaw. “Care to maybe, I don't know,  _ EXPLAIN _ ?”

“They were going to make Yeojin chief. I’m not letting a child take over Eclipse.”

That’s it. Her explanation. It ends there.

“So of course, we’re going to get fucking married. Because Yeojin’s editor-in-chief.”

“And you have a problem with that? Last time I checked, you haven’t gone on a date in months. Unless you have some kind of high school sweetheart waiting for you back home?”

Jungeun’s eye twitches at that one.

“ _ Sooyoung _ . I am not going to marry you.”

“Sure you are. I need my green card."

This time, the editor actually makes eye contact with her for a few seconds before she back to looking at the papers on her desk. Her boss looks at her as she would a client; like this was a business deal. Nothing more, nothing less.

_ You sick bitch. _

Jungeun points at her, infuriated, ready to cuss out and tell her that not only is it, A: illegal to do that, but also B: why the fuck would Jungeun ever marry her? And not forgetting C through Z, which are just extremely intelligible variants of "fuck you".

But Sooyoung beats her to it. She never gets to that.

Sooyoung begins with an empathetic sigh, “Look, this is as much a ‘me’ problem as it is a ‘you’ problem. If you let them deport me, Yeojin is going to fire you if that’s the last thing she does as the chief of this place. Then, your dreams of becoming an editor for Seoul’s biggest fashion magazine is going to shatter into a million pieces. Not to mention all the messages you’ve ignored on Tinder, the ex-girlfriends you’ve ghosted, the late night coffee runs, and every single manuscript you’ve written for me will go down the drain in the span of… three days? Four? But don’t worry because all you need is to sign a paper, spend a decent amount of time as my legally-wedded wife, and then we’ll get a divorce after a few months and you’ll be done with me.”

Jungeun doesn’t blink throughout the monologue. Or breathe, really.

Sooyoung is right. And she hates that fact more than anything else in the world.

“So until then, we’re going to be wives, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health… Cool?”

She  _ is _ going to have to marry her.

The phone rings, interrupting them, but it’s not like Sooyoung was waiting for Jungeun’s answer anyway. She points her dazed assistant in the direction of the phone, looking as if she’s expecting her to take it. It’s probably the soccer star on the line, seeing as how they had totally abandoned her call.

Jungeun doesn’t move a muscle.


End file.
